JPMorgan Chase’s asset and wealth management division has made a groundbreaking decision to eliminate its reliance on external proxy advisory firms, becoming the first major investment firm to fully transition away from traditional human advisors for its US shareholder voting process. The bank is replacing these external advisors with an in-house AI platform called Proxy IQ, marking a significant shift in how one of the world’s largest asset managers handles corporate governance decisions.
The changes will take full effect on April 1, 2025, following a transition period in the first quarter. This move affects JPMorgan’s massive $7 trillion in client assets, giving the AI system influence over thousands of shareholder decisions across corporate America. Previously, JPMorgan relied on established proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis for data collection, advice, and voting recommendations—a common industry practice.
The timing of this decision coincides with increased political pressure on the proxy advisory industry. The Trump administration issued an executive order in December 2024 calling for greater oversight of proxy advisors, claiming they “regularly use their substantial power to advance and prioritize radical politically-motivated agendas.” Both ISS and Glass Lewis were specifically named in that executive order.
According to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider, JPMorgan’s new Proxy IQ platform will aggregate and analyze proprietary data from more than 3,000 annual company meetings. The bank emphasized that this move reinforces its “unwavering commitment to vote solely in clients’ best interests, using our information advantage.” The AI tool will extend the independent analysis that portfolio managers, research analysts, and stewardship teams have traditionally applied, now covering all aspects of the voting process “down to the smallest detail.”
This strategic shift aligns with CEO Jamie Dimon’s broader AI ambitions. JPMorgan operates with a $18 billion technology budget, and Dimon has publicly stated his intention to win the “AI arms race” in financial services. The deployment of Proxy IQ represents one of the most significant applications of AI in corporate governance to date, potentially setting a precedent for other major institutional investors.
Key Quotes
the first major investment firm to fully eliminate any reliance on external proxy advisors for our US voting process
JPMorgan described its pioneering position in an internal memo, emphasizing that no other major investment firm has completely abandoned traditional proxy advisory services in favor of an AI-driven approach.
Proxy advisors regularly use their substantial power to advance and prioritize radical politically-motivated agendas
This statement from the Trump administration’s December executive order reflects the political pressure on the proxy advisory industry that provides context for JPMorgan’s decision to move away from external advisors.
Proxy IQ extends the high bar of independent analysis that our portfolio managers, research analysts and stewardship teams have always applied to every vote, using that same in-house expertise to cover all aspects of the voting process, including data and research selection, down to the smallest detail
JPMorgan’s internal memo describes how the AI platform will maintain analytical standards while scaling the decision-making process across thousands of shareholder meetings, suggesting the system will handle granular details previously managed by human advisors.
We are proud of our four-decade record serving the global institutional investor community
An ISS spokesperson’s response to JPMorgan’s decision, defending the proxy advisory firm’s long-standing role in the industry while declining to directly comment on losing JPMorgan as a client.
Our Take
JPMorgan’s deployment of Proxy IQ represents more than just operational efficiency—it’s a strategic power play in the AI era. By bringing proxy voting in-house with AI, the bank gains complete control over its voting philosophy and insulates itself from political criticism of external advisors. However, this raises critical transparency questions: Will clients understand how the AI makes decisions? What biases might be encoded in the algorithms? The $18 billion technology budget and Dimon’s “AI arms race” rhetoric suggest this is just the beginning of AI’s transformation of asset management. The real test will be whether Proxy IQ can handle nuanced governance decisions that traditionally required human judgment, particularly on controversial issues like climate policy or executive compensation. If successful, we’re witnessing the birth of algorithmic corporate governance at scale—a development with profound implications for capitalism itself.
Why This Matters
This development represents a watershed moment for AI adoption in corporate governance and institutional investing. JPMorgan’s decision to replace human proxy advisors with an AI system could fundamentally reshape how trillions of dollars in assets are voted on critical corporate decisions, from executive compensation to board elections and environmental policies.
The implications extend beyond JPMorgan. As the first major investment firm to make this transition, the bank is likely to influence industry practices across asset management. If Proxy IQ proves successful, other institutional investors managing trillions more could follow suit, potentially disrupting the entire proxy advisory industry and threatening the business models of firms like ISS and Glass Lewis.
The move also highlights the accelerating displacement of professional advisory roles by AI systems in high-stakes financial decision-making. This raises important questions about accountability, transparency, and potential algorithmic bias in corporate governance. Additionally, the political context—with the Trump administration’s criticism of proxy advisors—suggests this shift may have implications for how ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors are weighted in shareholder voting, as AI systems could be programmed with different priorities than traditional advisors.