Votes against pay awards at Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, BP and others in 2016 are evidence that fund managers are beginning to wonder if company bosses are being paid too much, according to one of London's top corporate governance firms.

Hans-Christoph Hirt, co-head of Hermes Eos, said at a June 29 breakfast briefing to discuss this year's annual general meeting season that, for the first time in his career, "mainstream fund managers" are beginning to grapple with the issue.