By Ross Kerber and Dan Freed
BOSTON/NEW YORK, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Big mutual funds are likely to vote later this month to allow Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Brian Moynihan to retain his chairman title, based on their voting history, governance experts said.
That support could leave investors seeking to split the chairman and chief executive roles facing an uphill battle.
The second-largest U.S. bank last year gave Moynihan the additional title of chairman, a move that upset many investors who prefer an independent chairman, who can provide more oversight.
Portfolio managers signaled their displeasure by voting against four directors who were running for re-election at the company's annual meeting in May. The directors still received enough votes to retain their seats, but by relatively narrow margins.
Recent securities filings show big funds run by the bank's top shareholders including Vanguard Group Inc, State Street Corp and BlackRock Inc backed all directors at the Charlotte, North Carolina, company in May.
These supportive votes suggest the asset managers will again vote the bank's way, if only to avoid controversy, said Yale Law School professor Jonathan Macey.
"These guys don't like turmoil," Macey said.
BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street representatives all declined to comment. A Bank of America spokesman declined to comment on ongoing talks with investors.
Investors will vote on Sept. 22 on bylaw changes made last year to give Moynihan the additional job. That move undid a vote by shareholders in 2009 to require an independent chair. The bank also named Jack Bovender lead independent director.
At the bank's annual meeting, investors focused their ire on governance committee members, including committee head Thomas May, supported by only 67 percent of votes cast.
Support for directors of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 on average has been 95 percent or better recently, said compensation consultant Semler Brossy.
That big asset managers voted for the directors on the bank's governance committee suggests the investors were not so angry about Moynihan's new title, especially given the new role given to Bovender, said Stephen Brown, head of governance consulting firm the Edgerton Group.
"What's fair to read from them (the votes) is that the big funds have a neutral position on what they think of the split role, as long as there is a strong lead independent director," Brown said.
(Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston and Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)