January 14, 2020
January 14, 2020
Vanessa Countryman, Secretary
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street NE
Washington, DC 20549-1090
Re: File Number S7-22-19
Dear Secretary Countryman:
The average investor or pensioner has likely never heard of proxy advisory firms, but the impact these bad actors have on retirement funds has gotten out of control. They political games with peoples futures, and thats simply not right. I am writing today to share my views on the SECs review of the questionable practices of proxy advisors.
My husband and I are employees at Walt Disney World. This job is a dream come true. We love our jobs and have a fantastic union to ensure that we have competitive wages—and a secure retirement. Every dollar that goes into our pensions is one that was likely left out of our salary. Its a negotiation we sacrifice today for peace of mind tomorrow. But there is little peace of mind when others are abusing your rights and gambling your assets on political causes you may or may not believe in.
Just two companies, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, have a duopoly of the proxy advisory market nationwide. This allows their activists to abuse the arrangement with no fiduciary responsibility and undisclosed conflicts of interest. Its anti-competitive and prevents sound advice for the nations pension and investment funds.
I am also concerned because these firms, which lack transparency and accountable across the board, are undermining normal corporate governance. Disney is already a socially conscious company it doesnt need a third-party interfering with the way it conducts business and balances profits with responsibility. If it did, the local, state, and federal governments would have that covered. No need for shady super regulators who rely on questionable practices like automatic voting, specialty reports, and resubmitted shareholder proposals.
Keep the politics out of our retirements. We arent investing our futures in other peoples crusades. We work hard for a living and deserve good advice that is not tainted by anything except sound financial strategies. Its a betrayal of trust, and its just plain wrong. Thank you for considering my views on this matter I hope you are successful in your efforts to put a needed check on the unparalleled power of proxy advisors.
With Kind Regards,
Stephanie Lipton