December 18, 2019
Ms. Vanessa Countryman, Secretary
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street NE
Washington, DC 20549-0609
December 18, 2019
Re: Amendments to Exemptions from the Proxy Rules for Proxy Voting Advice, File Number S7-22-19
Dear Ms. Countryman,
In a culture as divided as ours right now, there does seem to be unanimous agreement that the point of retirement investments is to grow and provide a stable foundation for our retirement years. What role does politics play in this? None whatsoever, and we need tighter regulation on the financial industry to ensure that politics stays out of it.
I want what is best for retail investors and for public pensioners. And that is based on healthy returns, not risking retirement stability on social and environmental activism. Investing with an eye to these issues is fine for making a statement, but horrible for actually investing. Retirement funds are meant to produce returns, not make statements. Anyone with a hand on retirement accounts ought to be held to fiduciary standards that prioritize returns.
As fund managers shirk responsibility and vote hook, line, and sinker with proxy recommendations during shareholder meetings, and as proxy firms prioritize certain companies’ ideological agendas over the well being of the majority of investors action by the SEC is more and more necessary to hold fund managers accountable.
Sincerely,
Gina Countryman