Jan. 28, 2020
Secretary Vanessa Countryman Securities and Exchange Commission 100 F Street NE Washington, DC 20549-1090 Re: SEC - Docket Number - S7-22-19 Dear Sec. Countryman, As a pastor, my congregation has a long tradition of not only being in the community, but of being an active part of the community. We appreciate service, and we appreciate activism. We want people to be engaged in appropriate ways. However, I don’t think using the retirement funds and investments of others is the right way to advance one’s personal causes. In the case of proxy advisory firms under review in the Docket Number S7-22-19, I think their “environmental, social, and governance” objectives may be well intended but possibly misguided. Certainly, the process could use some more oversight to ensure that everything is being done properly. It seems proxy advisory firms could be more transparent and freer from conflicts of interest, so it is good that the SEC provides greater oversight to keep them honest. All I know is there is a pension crisis across the country, including here in Washington. Pensioners should be protected from any sort of mismanagement. Many of our church’s members have pensions, and they should be guaranteed the best possible returns, even if they aren’t necessarily based on the most politically convenient positions for pension managers. Please provide greater oversight of this issue and ensure that these firms operate with greater transparency and regulatory oversight. Thank you for your commitment to making financial investment process fairer for the average investor. Sincerely, Aaragon Markwell, Pastor First Baptist Church of South Bend