Feb. 6, 2020
Vanessa Countryman, Secretary Securities and Exchange Commission 100 F Street, NE Washington, DC 20549-0609 Re: File Number S7-22-19 Dear Miss Countryman, As a small business owner and an immigrant to this country, I am no stranger to hard work, looking out for myself, and planning for the future. As president of my company I balance many things between the daily operations of our business, the needs of my employees, and my own retirement plans on the horizon. One concern I would like to share with you is the influence of unaccountable firms on the retirement portfolios that I and other small investors similar to me rely on for our upcoming retirements. These proxy advisory firms cast votes in matters of fund investment, governance, and general direction. But these firms are not answerable to us, the everyday retail investors. There seems to be no checks on their influence and no consequences for bad voting or misrepresentation of investor wishes. I know that this is a matter the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into, and I thank you. I hope that your investigation will turn up some ways small investors can be protected against large and unaccountable companies like the proxy firms. I have put money away for my retirement years so that I might enjoy that time of not working and not burden my loved ones. Of course there are no promises granted to us about the future. And yet, taking steps to protect the futures of so many will be time well spent by the SEC. Sincerely, Jamal Moharer Jamal Moharer President, NDMJ LLC and First Alt. Fuel, Inc. Tyler, TX