Publications

On April 2, 2017, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer announced that his office has sent letters to over a dozen S&P 500 companies that either hosted virtual-only annual general meetings last year or have indicated that they will host virtual-only meetings this year, urging them to host in-person meetings instead. Comptroller Stringer also alerted these companies of a proposed change to the New York City Pension Funds’ proxy voting guidelines that, if approved later this month, would codify a policy of voting against governance committee members at companies that hold virtual-only meetings. This policy, the Comptroller’s office stated in its letters, would take effect immediately for S&P 500 companies that hold virtual-only meetings in 2017 and “would extend to all U.S. portfolio companies in 2018.” According to the letters, the “only exception to this new policy . . . would be for companies that agree – in advance of their 2017 meetings dates – to hold in-person or hybrid annual meetings beginning in 2018.”