Jan. 31, 2020
January 31, 2020 Re: File Number S7-22-19 Dear Sec. Countryman: Pension funds should be administered to produce maximum returns for investors. Any behavior that detracts from this end should be suspect. I appreciate the Securities and Exchange Commission’s attention to the issue of proxy advisory firms and how they relate to exactly this issue. Proxy firms are known for pushing political agendas under the guise of a social-good program. While I appreciate that good can come of regulations that value environmental and social issues, I strongly disagree with pension and retirement funds being used as tools to achieve such ends. Proxy firms regularly use pension and retirement funds for just this sort of agenda-pushing and I think it is incumbent upon the SEC to take steps that curtail their power to do so. After 20 years with the New York state legislature and time in the executive branch, I will draw a pension from the state upon my retirement. I certainly hope there is a strong pension available from which to draw, and that the future of New York State Common Retirement fund is stabilized for the generations of public servants who follow me. Thank you, Niko Ladopoulos