BERLIN (Reuters) - Investment advisory firm Hermes EOS on Wednesday called on Volkswagen investors to vote against the election of supervisory board members at the annual shareholder meeting on Thursday.

The proposed re-election of board member Wolfgang Porsche and the election of Marianne Heiss would contradict a move towards more independent representation on the 20-member controlling panel and undermine corporate governance principles, Hermes, which represents large institutional investors, said in a written statement.

Heiss has been nominated by Volkswagen (VW) to replace Annika Falkengren, a Swedish banker who has switched jobs, while Porsche, chairman of VW's majority stakeholder Porsche, is seeking a new term on the VW board.

(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Tom Sims)