London-based fintech Proxymity, a platform that connects issuers, intermediaries, and investors digitally in real-time, has secured $26M in growth funding from existing investors BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Citi, Clearstream, Computershare, J.P. Morgan, and State Street. According to Dealroom data, this brings the platform’s total funding to $98.5M.
With this capital, Proxymity will further enhance its technology, ensuring innovative and unique features and experiences are available to the ecosystem, and geographic expansion, following its growth in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, South Africa, and Singapore. The funding demonstrates investors’ confidence in Proxymity’s award-winning technology to deliver unparalleled transparency, efficiency, and accuracy in proxy voting, shareholder disclosure, and investor communications.
How Proximity builds a new standard in investor communications
Founded in 2017 by Dean Little and Jonathan Smalley (who have over 30 years of combined industry experience in custody product development), Proxymity emerged as a digital investor communications platform. The company tackles several challenges in traditional proxy voting and shareholder communication, including inefficient communication, lack of transparency, time constraints, and regulatory compliance.
Little and Smalley conceived Proxymity while working in Citi’s Equities and Securities Services (ESS) Custody Product group. They developed the platform through Citi’s D10X innovation program, which supports creating and launching business solutions across Citi’s operations. After launching in the UK 2018 under Citigroup Inc., Proxymity spun out in 2020 as an independent entity.
Jonathan Smalley told TFN: “Inefficiencies in the proxy voting system have led to both issuers and investors, the crucial end users in the process, being disenfranchised with their experience, and Proxymity was founded to radically improve the process for everyone in the ecosystem radically, ensuring access to real-time data, full transparency of voting status and activity and regulatory compliance.”
As of 2025, the company is backed by a global consortium of the industry’s most influential financial institutions, representing seven of the world’s top ten Global Custodians managing over $200 trillion in assets under custody (BNP Paribas, BNY, Citi, Computershare, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Börse, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Mediant, State Street)
Transforming proxy voting through digital innovation
Unlike competitors Say, Shaparency, and Cryptolex, Proxymity creates a real-time digital connection between issuers, intermediaries, and investors. This brings unprecedented transparency and efficiency to proxy voting. The platform’s direct digital pathway eliminates intermediaries and manual processes, enabling instant transmission of meeting announcements, votes, and confirmations.
Smalley added: “Proxymity is committed to creating a solution that delivers value for all the key parties in the chain (issuers, investors and intermediaries). It is faster and more transparent than other market solutions and is truly aligned with delivering an innovative solution that solves the needs of today’s shareholders and issuers.”
Proxymity provides real-time post-meeting vote confirmations, giving investors certainty that their votes were counted. As more investors and intermediaries adopt the platform, issuers and their agents have joined, allowing them to monitor voting in real time and improve shareholder communications.
The platform’s proprietary technology sometimes extends voting deadlines by up to nine days, giving investors more time for decision-making. By removing intermediaries and manual processes, Proxymity reduces error risks and streamlines voting. Its vote-recycling technology can cut global vote rejections in half.
The funding coincides with Proxymity’s launch of Vote Connect Global and Vote Connect Total North America products and the Investor Portal Platform. These solutions let investors and intermediaries vote at any general meeting worldwide, with comprehensive coverage and direct vote execution capability, including in the US. The new Investor Portal enhances these offerings with up-to-market deadline voting, authoritative meeting information, and real-time vote execution.
Industry leaders back Proxymity’s vision
With this latest funding round, Proxymity is well-positioned to continue its mission of transforming the investor communications landscape. As regulatory requirements like the EU’s Shareholder Rights Directive II (SRD II) come into effect, the company’s solutions become even more critical for ensuring compliance and improving transparency in the proxy voting process.
The continued backing from major financial institutions signals strong confidence in Proxymity’s potential to reshape the industry and set new standards for efficiency and transparency in shareholder engagement. Here are some quotes:
Christian Houillon, Global Head of Custody Products & Solutions at BNP Paribas, said: “Our continued investment in Proxymity reflects our confidence in their innovative technology and close collaboration. The advancements they’re making in transparency and efficiency within proxy voting and shareholder communication are remarkable, and we’re excited to support their journey to benefit our clients.”
Amit Agarwal, Head of Custody at Citi, added, “Citi is delighted to continue supporting Proxymity as they deliver on our shared vision of a next-generation digital investor communications platform that’s setting new industry benchmarks. The platform benefits issuers, investors, and intermediaries in multiple areas, including voting deadlines and data quality.”
Hannah Elson, Head of Global Custody at J.P. Morgan, noted: “The market’s increasing adoption of Proxymity’s technology reflects the platform’s effectiveness and potential for continued growth. Our commitment stems from their proven track record and the impressive strides they’re making in enhancing the shareholder experience.”
President of Computershare’s Global Capital Markets, Paul Conn, concluded, “Governance improves when communication between companies and their investors is strong and clear. Proxymity helps make interactions between issuers and their beneficial shareholders more efficient, precise, and transparent, and we’re pleased to join others in supporting its next stages of success.”
