Publications

As we reported last month, the New York City Comptroller’s Office, which serves as the chief investment advisor and custodian of assets to the New York City Retirement Systems pension funds, had proposed changes to the pension funds’ Corporate Governance Principles and Proxy Voting Guidelines to encourage in-person or hybrid annual meetings (i.e., in-person meetings that incorporate virtual technology). The New York City Retirement Systems pension funds’ trustees have since approved a formal change to the funds’ Corporate Governance Principles and Proxy Voting Guidelines, stating that the pension funds “may oppose all incumbent directors of a nominating committee subject to election at a ‘virtual only’ annual meeting.” According to the Comptroller’s Office, in-person annual meetings are necessary, as they “provide shareowners the opportunity to communicate to senior management and directors, and to fellow shareowners, in a face-to-face, unfiltered and real-time way at least once per year.”