AstraZeneca’s shareholders rebel over pay
Shareholders in AstraZeneca have rebelled over proposals to raise bonus levels for its bosses.


Drug giant AstraZeneca has suffered a “major shareholder rebellion” over proposals to raise bonus levels for its bosses, including CEO Pascal Soriot (pictured), says Julia Bradshaw in The Daily Telegraph. While the proposals were passed, over 40% of AstraZeneca’s investors voted against them.
Soriot’s possible earnings have now climbed from 650% of his salary to 900% in just two years. The reason the revolt went as far as it did was due to opposition from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which advises 4,000 clients on how they should vote, says Oliver Shah in the Sunday Times. However, while the likes of ISS can be useful in fighting “egregious bonuses”, such as those at floundering Cineworld, their “box-ticking” is unfair for Soriot, one of the few “world-class chief executives in the FTSE 100”. AstraZeneca’s share price has increased by 80% since he took over and it has developed a Covid-19 vaccine with Oxford, so“if anyone deserves a pay rise, it is Soriot”.
Soriot is a “talented chief” whose performance “actually lives up to the multimillion-pound billing” and his pay isn’t excessive compared with his contemporaries at Roche or Pfizer, says Helen Thomas in the Financial Times. Still, investors rightly worry that the dynamic in the AstraZeneca boardroom has “tipped” in favour of its “superstar boss”, who is now “being feted as the saviour of the UK’s health and economy”. The increased size and complexity that AstraZeneca is taking on with its $39bn takeover of Alexion, which shareholders also approved at the meeting, could prompt Soriot to demand even more money in future.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.
He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.
Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.
As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.
Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri
-
Reeves warned against property tax shake-up – 3 ways it could backfire on first-time buyers
Rachel Reeves reportedly has her eye on high-end property taxes in the upcoming Budget, but there are concerns a shake-up could unintentionally hamper those trying to get on the housing ladder
-
Average Brits want to retire five years before they can – who has the widest retirement gap?
Brits are expecting to work for longer than ever but there are big disparities in the number of extra working years predicted. A small tweak could help close the gap
-
Pierre-Édouard Stérin wants to make France great again
Conservative billionaire Pierre-Édouard Stérin is seeking to lead a political and spiritual renaissance across the Channel. The planning looks meticulous
-
Global investors have overlooked the top innovators in emerging markets
Opinion Carlos Hardenberg, portfolio manager, Mobius Investment Trust, highlights three emerging market stocks where he’d put his money
-
Pinewood Technologies: a drive for growth
Pinewood Technologies’ platform is one of the best in the business. Investors should buy in
-
'EV maker Faraday Future will crash'
Faraday Future Intelligent Electric is failing dismally to live up to its name, says Matthew Partridge
-
Investors should cheer the coming nuclear summer
The US and UK have agreed a groundbreaking deal on nuclear power, and the sector is seeing a surge in interest from around the world. Here's how you can profit
-
8 of the best houses for sale with follies
The best houses for sale with follies in the grounds – from a five-storey Victorian Gothic tower in Tonbridge, Kent, to a former mill in Oxfordshire with gardens that include a folly on an island in a lake
-
A tale of two Reits – why performance matters for valuation
AEW UK and Regional are two Reits that are valued very differently, despite a shared focus on properties outside London
-
Healthcare stocks look cheap, but tread carefully
Shares in healthcare companies could get a shot in the arm if uncertainty over policy in the US wanes, but are they worth the risk?