WisdomTree's chair has been unseated following a shareholder campaign from its largest investor, ETFS Capital.

In the firm's annual general meeting on 16 June, WisdomTree's chair Frank Salerno, who has sat on the board for 18 years and has been chair since 2019, lost his re-election to ETFS Capital nominee Tonia Pankopf.

However, ETFS Capital's other nominees, Bruce Aust and founder Graham Tuckwell, were both rejected, with the shareholder's targets of Shamla Naidoo and Win Neuger winning re-election.

The AGM was the culmination of a months-long campaign from ETFS Capital, which began over the performance of the firm and the launch of its digital wallet.

Chair Salerno and Neuger were among the first targets of the campaign, with Tuckwell calling for their resignation in April and accusing them of undermining attempts to change the firm.

The pressure against Salerno grew as three independent proxy advisory firms (Glass Lewis, ISS and Egan-Jones) all came out against his campaign, despite ISS and Glass Lewis also opposing Tuckwell's nomination to the board.

While Neuger, who is chair of the nominating and governance committee, retained his seat, over one-third of the shares voted at the annual meeting were against him based on preliminary results.

ETFS Capital, which holds a combined 18.3% of WisdomTree's outstanding common stock on an as-converted basis, said the result was a "strong message from stockholders that the board is in urgent need of meaningful change".

In a statement, WisdomTree CEO Jonathan Steinberg said: "WisdomTree's business has never been stronger, and we are well positioned to continue on our growth trajectory and execute on our long-term vision."

He also noted that ETFS Capital now held board representation proportionate to its investment in WisdomTree.

Stockholders at the AGM also voted for the firm's proposals on say-on-pay and the ratification of the stockholder rights agreement and the firm's accountant.

ETFS Capital concluded: "The board has an obligation to demonstrate a commitment to stockholders to remove its long-tenured directors from key committee positions and to pursue true refreshment by reconstituting the leadership and key committees of the board to include a plurality of independent views, experience and expertise, particularly those of the more recently appointed directors."