Shareholder Association For Research And Education

What Shareholder Association For Research And Education does

Shareholder Association For Research And Education (SHARE) is a Canadian non-profit organization founded in 2000 and headquartered in Vancouver, with a secondary office in Toronto. The organization mobilizes institutional investors to exercise stewardship over the Canadian and global capital markets through four core service lines: Shareholder Engagement (constructive dialogue with portfolio companies on ESG issues, including filing shareholder proposals); Advisory Services (responsible investment strategy development, board and investment committee education, and outsourced responsible investment officer support); Proxy Audits (a tool that monitors and analyzes proxy voting across director elections, climate, safety, diversity, and executive compensation); and Affiliate Membership (a recurring subscription offering consultation hours, research, and event access to smaller institutional investors). Its underlying technology stack is built around proprietary proxy audit tooling and a research library rather than ML-driven platforms.

SHARE operates as a platform of interconnected investor networks and initiatives that layer additional value on top of the four core services. These include Climate Engagement Canada (a finance-led initiative for just-transition engagement), the Global Unions' Committee on Workers' Capital (over 700 participants across 25 countries), the Religious Investors Network, the University Network for Investor Engagement (UNIE), the Reconciliation and Responsible Investment Institute (RRII), the SHARE Labour Working Group, and the Global Labour Rights Campaigns Hub. Customers are segmented horizontally across pension funds, foundations, universities, religious investors, asset managers, Indigenous trusts, and trade unions, with no single vertical dominating.

SHARE's revenue model blends four mechanics: subscription-based Affiliate Membership fees (annual), professional-services fees for Advisory and Shareholder Engagement (including Canadian Equity Engagement and US & Global Equity Engagement tiers), Proxy Audit licensing, and grant funding from mission-aligned foundations (Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations) for specific initiatives. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; every dollar is reinvested into programs per SHARE's stated non-profit structure. The organization serves approximately 120+ institutional investors whose combined assets under management total roughly $148 billion, a figure that has grown from approximately $90 billion in earlier disclosures.

Name

Shareholder Association For Research And Education

Legal name

Shareholder Association For Research And Education

Website

https://share.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shareholder Association For Research And Education (SHARE) is a Canadian non-profit founded in 2000 that provides shareholder engagement, advisory, proxy audit, and affiliate membership services to 120+ institutional investors managing approximately $148 billion across pension funds, foundations, universities, religious investors, and trade unions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Responsible Investment Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Stewardship & Active Ownership (Engagement, Proxy Voting, Shareholder Advocacy) (FSAAALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Proxy Voting & Governance Services (FSAAAOAJ), Proxy Voting & Shareholder Meetings (AGM/EGM) (FSACAKAB)

Keywords

• Shareholder engagement services
• Responsible investment advisory
• Proxy voting audits
• ESG investor stewardship
• Institutional investor research

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Affiliate Membership Fees: SHARE offers affiliate membership to institutional investors providing high-value, cost-effective benefits including five hours of responsible investing consultation, 15% discount on registration fees for courses and conferences, access to research reports and investor guides, and links with national and global investor networks.
2. Advisory Services: SHARE provides advisory services to institutional investors including board and investment committee education, strategy and policy development, and outsourced responsible investment officer services.
3. Shareholder Engagement Services: SHARE facilitates constructive shareholder dialogues with companies on pressing ESG issues on behalf of institutional investor clients, including filing shareholder proposals.
4. Proxy Audits: SHARE's proxy audit tool helps investment committees and trustee boards monitor and manage how their proxies are voted, providing analysis on director elections, climate change, workplace safety, board diversity and executive compensation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SHARE delivers collaborative shareholder engagement, responsible investment advisory services, and proxy voting audits to institutional investors. On behalf of its members, it conducts dialogues with portfolio companies on climate, human rights, decent work, and Indigenous reconciliation issues, and files shareholder proposals when needed. Affiliate membership provides institutional investors with consultation hours, research, and access to investor networks and initiatives.

Product overview

SHARE operates as a platform of interconnected services and investor networks for responsible investment. The core service offering consists of four primary products: Shareholder Engagement (facilitating ESG-focused shareholder dialogues), Advisory Services (responsible investment strategy and policy development), Proxy Audits (proxy voting monitoring and analysis), and Affiliate Membership (introductory responsible investment access). These core services are complemented by seven major investor initiatives and networks—including Climate Engagement Canada, the Religious Investors Network, UNIE, the Labour Working Group, and the Global Labour Rights Campaigns Hub—that enable collaborative action on specific ESG issues. The organization also maintains a comprehensive publications and research library covering responsible investment topics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shareholder Engagement

Quantifiable outcome

• Sysco committed to expand its social audits and disclose key performance indicators relating to human rights performance following SHARE engagement
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Groupe Investissement Responsable (GIR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020In 2020, SHARE and GIR combined their proxy voting services into a single entity and launched the sole Canadian provider of proxy voting services for institutional investors.
• National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association (NATOA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHARE and NATOA formed the Reconciliation and Responsible Investment Initiative (RRII) to build a model and example of investment in reconciliation - mobilizing institutional investors, led by Indigenous trusts themselves to promote greater demand by investee corporations for Indigenous employees, contractors, managers and directors, as well as increased partnerships and economic opportunities for Indigenous communities.
• Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHARE is a service provider signatory to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The PRI is an international network of investors working together to put the six Principles for Responsible Investment into practice. SHARE participates in a growing global community of institutions seeking to build a more sustainable financial system.
• Inter-faith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHARE is an affiliate member of the ICCR - a coalition of faith and values-driven organizations who view the management of their investments as a powerful catalyst for social change. SHARE participates in a number of collaborative engagements through the ICCR.
• Church Investors Group (CIG)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTogether with CIG, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and the Church of Sweden, SHARE launched an international, faith-based collaboration on modern slavery. SHARE met with legislators, businesses, trade associations and civil society groups throughout the year to help push for a legislative process in Ottawa.
• Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHARE has partnered with CCAB on a research project aimed at enhancing demand for Indigenous employment, training and contracting opportunities within the investment chain. The project articulates recommendations to address challenges and opportunities in different parts of the investment chain.
• Responsible Investment Association (RIA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHARE is an associate member of Canada's Responsible Investment Association (RIA). The RIA promotes the practice of responsible investing in Canada and supports the responsible investment practices of its members. RIA and SHARE serve as joint secretariat for Climate Engagement Canada.
• Climate Action 100+coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHARE is signatory to the Climate Action 100+ Sign-on Statement that sets out the commitment and expectations to implement a strong governance framework, take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across value chains, and provide enhanced corporate disclosure.
• CDPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHARE is working with CDP to encourage high quality disclosure of climate change related data from corporations, using CDP's data to inform engagements with corporations with the goal of changing corporate behavior via the reduction of emissions.
• World Benchmarking AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHARE is part of the Alliance, which seeks to generate a movement around increasing the private sector's impact towards a sustainable future for all, guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Impact UnitedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHARE is a knowledge partner for Impact United, a community of investors seeking to mobilize capitals towards social, economic and environmental justice. SHARE supports Impact United with research, education and convening related to impact investing and public markets.
• Intentional Endowments NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHARE is a member of the Intentional Endowments Network, and works with the organization to encourage and support higher education institutions to adopt investment strategies that create an equitable, low-carbon, and regenerative economy.
• Investors for Opioid and Pharmaceutical Accountability (IOPA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIOPA is a global coalition of 58 US state treasurers, pension & benefit funds, faith-based institutions, & asset manager members with more than US$4.3 trillion in assets under management. SHARE's CEO, Kevin Thomas, serves as Co-Chair of the IOPA.
• CerescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCeres is one of the investor networks coordinating the dissemination of Climate Engagement Canada (CEC) program alongside SHARE and Responsible Investment Association.
• Pensions & Investment Research Consultants Ltd (PIRC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPIRC is Europe's largest independent corporate governance and shareholder advisory consultancy. They support the Global Labour Rights Campaigns Hub with dedicated research and stewardship teams with expertise across climate, labour and human rights.
• Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Investors for Racial Equity Project is a joint initiative between SHARE and the Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR), dedicated to mobilizing financial capital to advance racial equity in Canada.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Glass Lewis: Glass Lewis is a leading global proxy advisory firm offering research, voting recommendations, and stewardship services to institutional investors. It directly competes with SHARE's proxy audit and governance advisory services, and competes with SHARE-affiliated providers for the same institutional investor clients.
• EOS at Federated Hermes: EOS is the stewardship services arm of Federated Hermes, providing long-term active engagement with companies on behalf of institutional asset owners. Its model of multi-year, theme-driven engagement on ESG issues closely parallels SHARE's shareholder engagement service and proxy advisory capabilities.
• Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR): ICCR is a coalition of faith- and values-driven organizations that engage companies on social and environmental issues through shareholder advocacy. SHARE is an ICCR affiliate, but ICCR also serves as a peer in faith-based investor coalition engagement in the US, addressing overlapping religious investor constituencies.
• Ceres: Ceres is a sustainability nonprofit that works with institutional investors and companies on climate and water risk, and co-coordinates the Climate Engagement Canada initiative alongside SHARE. Ceres serves overlapping investor segments and provides comparable sustainability advocacy and coalition convening services in the US and globally.
• Pensions & Investment Research Consultants Ltd (PIRC): PIRC is a European independent corporate governance and shareholder advisory consultancy with expertise across climate, labour, and human rights. PIRC supports SHARE's Global Labour Rights Campaigns Hub but is also a direct peer, offering proxy research and engagement advisory to European institutional investors.
• Ethos Foundation: Ethos is a Swiss non-profit foundation that provides sustainable investment services, shareholder engagement, and proxy voting analysis to Swiss pension funds and institutional investors. As a non-profit foundation-led model, Ethos is closely structurally comparable to SHARE and addresses the same institutional investor stewardship market in Switzerland.
• Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS): ISS is the world's largest proxy advisory firm, providing proxy research, voting recommendations, and governance services to institutional investors—directly comparable to SHARE's Proxy Audit and shareholder engagement offerings. Both serve asset owners seeking to exercise informed voting rights, though ISS operates globally as a commercial entity while SHARE is Canada-focused and non-profit.

Broad incumbents

• Sustainalytics: Sustainalytics is a major global ESG and corporate governance research, ratings, and analytics firm serving institutional investors and asset managers. While broader in scope than SHARE, it addresses the same institutional investor demand for ESG and stewardship data, and competes indirectly with SHARE's research and advisory offerings.
• MSCI ESG Research: MSCI ESG Research is a global provider of ESG ratings, data, and analytics used by institutional investors to inform stewardship and proxy voting decisions. It is a broad incumbent competing for institutional ESG data and analytics budget that might otherwise be allocated to SHARE's research products.

Regional players

• Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI): ACSI is an Australian investor association representing superannuation funds on corporate governance and responsible investment issues. It operates a comparable member-driven model to SHARE, providing engagement, voting advisory, and policy advocacy—but serves Australian institutional investors rather than Canadian ones.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shareholder-association-for-research-and-education-share-
• Xx.com/share_ca

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shareholder Association For Research And Education