Some of the largest US and UK pension funds will on Monday launch a last-ditch attempt to persuade Christopher Cox, Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, to halt a vote they fear will block shareholders’ ability to influence the composition of company boards.

The issue of whether and how shareholders can place their nominees for director elections on US company ballots - known as “proxy access” - has become the biggest test of Mr Cox’s ability to negotiate a path between the opposing interests of US business and shareholder activists.