BlackRock ESG Capital Allocation Term Trust (NYSE: ECAT) is asking shareholders to vote for its board nominees in a contested director election scheduled for June 9, 2026. The fund's board faces a challenge from an activist investor seeking to replace the current nominees.

The fund reported an 86% cumulative return on market price since January 2023, compared to 56% for its benchmark and 47% for the peer median. ECAT has distributed $982 million to shareholders since inception and maintains what it describes as the lowest discount to net asset value among competitor funds based on a one-year average.

The board has approved several shareholder actions, including increasing distributions by 233% since inception, authorizing over $100 million in share repurchases, and implementing a discount management program. The fund currently offers a 20% annualized monthly distribution rate.

Nine nominees are seeking election across three classes. Class I nominees include Cynthia L. Egan, former president of retirement plan services at T. Rowe Price Group; Lorenzo A. Flores, CFO of Lattice Semiconductor Corporation; and Stayce D. Harris, board director for Boeing Company.

Class II nominees are R. Glenn Hubbard, former chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers; W. Carl Kester, professor emeritus at Harvard Business School; and John M. Perlowski, president and CEO of BlackRock's US Retail Mutual Funds.

Class III nominees include Sir Robert Fairbairn, vice chairman at BlackRock; J. Phillip Holloman, interim executive chairman of Vestis Corporation; and Arthur P. Steinmetz, former chairman and CEO of Oppenheimer Funds.

Shareholders can vote online, by phone, or by mail using the white voting instruction form. The board warns that using any other voting form will cancel votes for its nominees.