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By Ross Kerber

April 23 (Reuters) - You'll have to wait until August for securities filings to come in showing how top fund managers voted most of their proxies as a contentious corporate annual meeting season gets going. But some asset managers make a practice of pre-announcing their votes, which could boost their influence.

You can read more about the idea in my column this week, linked below. I've also included items about a regulatory win for BlackRock; new environmental pressure on asset managers from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander; and Brazil's efforts to get developing nations, especially China, to agree to an ambitious climate goal.

You can follow me on LinkedIn and/or Bluesky. Or get me via ross.kerber@thomsonreuters.com. Also some bookkeeping: there will be no newsletter next week, see you on May 7.

Funds get in front of their proxy ballots

Most asset managers don't say how they plan to vote at corporate annual meetings. That leaves activists with small share holdings but big social agendas to do much of the pre-meeting talking on contentious issues like corporate climate policies or diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

No drama can be a good thing for many investors, especially at a time when top fund firms face pressure from Washington to leave portfolio companies alone. But academics have suggested investors might claim more influence if they were to make their voting intentions public before the events.

I talked to several asset managers who make these pre-announcements; you can read their comments in this week's column by clicking here.

Company news

BlackRock BLK.N scored a win on Friday when U.S. energy regulators said the top asset manager could continue to own major stakes in public utility companies, acknowledging but setting aside concerns it wields too much influence.

Minority shareholders in Norway's Equinor EQNR.OL said its board must explain how its plan to raise oil and gas production aligns with its commitment to the Paris agreement on curbing climate change.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander on Tuesday said public pension funds he oversees may drop asset managers if they do not include strong standards in their Net Zero plans by June 30.

On my radar

Brazil hopes to persuade other countries to commit to serious emission cuts, sources told Reuters. Brazil will host this year's United Nations climate summit in November, 10 years after the landmark Paris Accord to limit warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels.

Pope Francis, who died on Monday, had a heavy influence on that 2015 conference with his landmark encyclical issued that year on protecting the environment, titled Laudato Si.

Climate-focused U.S. nonprofits are preparing to defend their tax exemptions, fearing the Trump administration could take steps including changing IRS rules and blocking the use of U.S. grants to fund overseas work.

(Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston; Editing by David Gregorio)

((ross.kerber@thomsonreuters.com; (617) 412 0093;))