seev.004 — Meeting Instruction

The effective voting instruction. The registered holder communicates their intention for each resolution: for, against, abstention, or proxy delegation. Standardised pivot of AGM/EGM electronic voting.

Purpose and place in the flow

seev.004 is the voting instruction. The investor or voting agent specifies, for each resolution:

• FOR — vote for.
• AGNS — vote against.
• ABST — abstention.
• NORC — No Recommendation (defer to board recommendations without specification).
• PROX — proxy delegation to a named individual.

The message is sent before the cut-off date (typically 2-5 business days before the meeting). Once received and validated by the voting agent, the instruction is irrevocable unless explicit cancellation (new seev.004 with CANC status).

XML structure

• Id — unique instruction identifier.
• MtgRef — meeting reference.
• FinInstrmId — ISIN.
• AcctDtls — registered holder account details + EligPosId (from seev.003).
• Instr — voting instructions: one SnglInstr per resolution, with IssrLabl (resolution label) and VoteInstr (FOR/AGNS/ABST/…).

Key fields

• AcctDtls/EligPosId — carries over the seev.003 identifier.
• Instr/SnglInstr/IssrLabl — resolution label (RESOL-001, RESOL-002, etc.) — defined by the issuer in seev.001.
• Instr/SnglInstr/VoteInstr/Cd — vote FOR / AGNS / ABST / NORC / PROX.
• Instr/SnglInstr/VoteInstr/Prtl — for partial voting (weighting the vote on only part of the allocated votes).

XML example

The John Smith Family Trust (5,000 Apple votes) submits its instructions for the 12 April 2026 Apple AGM: for resolution 1 (auditor ratification), against resolution 2 (executive compensation plan), abstention on resolution 3 (shareholder proposal):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Document xmlns="urn:iso:std:iso:20022:tech:xsd:seev.004.001.07">
  <MtgInstr>
    <Id>MTGINSTR-AAPL-2026-001</Id>
    <MtgRef>
      <MtgId>AAPL-AGM-2026</MtgId>
      <IssrMtgId>APPLE-AGM-2026-MARCH</IssrMtgId>
      <MtgDtAndTm>2026-04-12T10:00:00Z</MtgDtAndTm>
      <Tp><Cd>AGM</Cd></Tp>
    </MtgRef>
    <FinInstrmId>
      <ISIN>US0378331005</ISIN>
    </FinInstrmId>
    <AcctDtls>
      <AcctOwnr>
        <Id>
          <AnyBIC><AnyBIC>BNPAFRPP</AnyBIC></AnyBIC>
        </Id>
      </AcctOwnr>
      <SfkpgAcct><Id>BNPPSAFEKEEP-NYSE-001</Id></SfkpgAcct>
      <EligPosId>EP-AAPL-AGM-2026-001</EligPosId>
    </AcctDtls>
    <Instr>
      <SnglInstr>
        <IssrLabl>RESOL-001</IssrLabl>
        <VoteInstr>
          <Cd>FOR</Cd>
        </VoteInstr>
      </SnglInstr>
      <SnglInstr>
        <IssrLabl>RESOL-002</IssrLabl>
        <VoteInstr>
          <Cd>AGNS</Cd>
        </VoteInstr>
      </SnglInstr>
      <SnglInstr>
        <IssrLabl>RESOL-003</IssrLabl>
        <VoteInstr>
          <Cd>ABST</Cd>
        </VoteInstr>
      </SnglInstr>
    </Instr>
  </MtgInstr>
</Document>

• Three SnglInstr: one per resolution.
• RESOL-001 → VoteInstr/Cd = FOR.
• RESOL-002 → VoteInstr/Cd = AGNS.
• RESOL-003 → VoteInstr/Cd = ABST.
• EligPosId carries the seev.003 identifier for matching.

Common pitfalls

• Divergent EligPosId — without seev.003 matching, the instruction is rejected. Always carry over the exact identifier.
• Unknown IssrLabl — voting on an unlisted resolution is rejected. Always use exact labels from seev.001.
• Vote after cut-off — a seev.004 received after CutOffDt is rejected. The investor loses their vote. Monitor delays.
• Wrongly weighted partial vote — for partial votes, verify the sum of partials <= VoteEntmnt. An overrun is rejected.
• No instruction on all resolutions — if some resolutions aren't voted explicitly, the custodian may apply a default rule (NORC or ABST). Always instruct explicitly to avoid ambiguity.

Related messages

• seev.001 — Meeting Notification.
• seev.003 — Meeting Entitlement Notification (eligibility source).
• seev.005 — Meeting Instruction Cancellation Request.
• seev.006 — Meeting Instruction Status.
• seev.008 — Meeting Vote Execution Confirmation.