FINRA will conduct its Annual Meeting of firms on Wednesday, September 1, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time in the FINRA Visitors Center at 1735 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The purpose of the meeting is to elect individuals to fill one small firm seat, one mid-size firm seat and one large firm seat on the FINRA Board of Governors.

It is important that all eligible firms be represented by proxy or in person at the Annual Meeting. Firms are urged to submit a proxy using one of the methods described below. For a proxy to be considered valid, it must be signed by the executive representative of the firm eligible to vote in the election.

Firms that are members of FINRA as of the close of business on Friday, July 30, 2021 (the Annual Meeting record date), are eligible to vote.

Term of Office

Governors serve three-year terms and may not serve more than two consecutive full terms. The elected candidates’ terms begin immediately following the Annual Meeting.

For the Board to maintain compliance with the compositional requirements of the FINRA By-Laws, elected Board members have a continuing obligation to satisfy the firm-size classification throughout the entire term for which the governor is elected. The By-Laws expressly provide that a governor’s term on the Board shall terminate immediately upon a determination by a majority vote of the remaining governors, that the governor no longer satisfies the classification for which he or she was elected, and the governor’s continued service would violate the mandated compositional requirements of the Board.

Voting Eligibility

FINRA firms are eligible to vote for the candidates in the same size category as their own firm. Therefore, firms registered with FINRA as of the close of business on Friday, July 30, 2021, will receive a proxy card listing the candidates running for the seat that is the same size category as their own firm.

Along with a copy of this Notice, a proxy listing the Small Firm Governor candidates was mailed to the executive representatives of eligible small firms, a proxy listing the Mid-Size Firm Governor candidate was mailed to the executive representatives of eligible mid-size firms, and a proxy listing the Large Firm Governor candidate was mailed to the executive representatives of eligible large firms.

Voting Methods

Firms will be able to submit a proxy by any lawful means, including using any of the following methods:

  • Telephone;
  • S. mail; or
  • Internet.

Alternatively, firms may attend the Annual Meeting and vote in person. The proxy mailed to each eligible firm contains detailed instructions on the proxy submission procedures.

For purposes of the election, for each open governor seat, a quorum must be met in each firm-size category. Therefore, as mentioned above, it is important that all firms be represented at the Annual Meeting. Executive representatives may receive telephone or email reminders during the election period to ensure that FINRA receives sufficient proxies to satisfy the Annual Meeting quorum requirements, as well as broad participation in the election by all firms that are eligible to vote.

Revocation of Proxies

If you have given a revocable proxy pursuant to a proxy card distributed by FINRA, you may nonetheless revoke your proxy by attending the Annual Meeting and voting in person. In addition, you may revoke any such proxy you give at any time before the Annual Meeting by delivering to FINRA’s Corporate Secretary a written statement revoking it or by duly delivering another proxy at a later time. Your attendance at the Annual Meeting will not in and of itself constitute a revocation of your proxy.

Voting Instructions

The named proxies shall vote as instructed by the FINRA firm. In the absence of a direction with respect to the election, any duly delivered proxy will not be counted in determining the outcome of the election, but will be counted in determining the presence of a quorum at the Annual Meeting. In their discretion, the named proxies will be authorized to vote upon all such other matters as may properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

To view the list of candidates, check out FINRA Election Notice – 8/2/21.

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