Vote blow for iSelect chiefs

Comparison site iSelect has suffered a first strike against its remuneration report despite it urging shareholders to see past its dismal share price performance.

At its first annual meeting since it was floated in June, about 28 per cent of votes were cast against its remuneration report.

If a company receives two strikes - a vote of 25 per cent or more against its executive-pay report two years in a row - a vote on a board spill is triggered.

The Australian Shareholders Association urged a vote against the report because it believed its short-term bonuses were too generous, while its long-term incentives covered too short a period. The ASA also did not support iSelect's non-recourse loans, which it said protected "executives from downside risk at the expense of the company".

Almost 11 per cent of votes were also cast against the re-election of Leslie Webb as a director.

iSelect's shares have never traded above their issue price of $1.85. On Monday they closed at $1.20.

Founder and executive chairman Damien Waller told shareholders: "The important thing to bear in mind is that our performance on the stock exchange isn't the result of something fundamentally wrong with the business."