Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Welcome to the 2020 Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of Equitable Holdings, Inc. I will now introduce Dave Hattem, the Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and secretary of Equitable Holdings, Inc.

Good morning. Before we begin, I'd like to note that some of the information we may present today in response to any questions received from stockholders may be forward-looking and subject to certain SEC rules and regulations regarding disclosure. Our results may materially differ from those expressed in or indicated by such forward-looking statement. So I would like to point out the safe harbor language included in our proxy statement and in our 10-K. With that, I am very pleased to introduce our Independent Chair of the Board, Ramon de Oliveira.

Thank you, Dave. I'm Ramon de Oliveira, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Equitable Holdings, Inc., and a warm welcome to all the stakeholders joining us today for our Second Annual Meeting of Stockholders and our inaugural annual meeting as Equitable. The fact that we are meeting today in a virtual format is a reminder of the extraordinary times we're living in. And as such, I will now ask Equitable's President and CEO, Mark Pearson, to make a few opening remarks.

Thank you, Chairman. As you said, these are extraordinary times. The entire facet of our lives has been altered by this terrible pandemic, as we have had to instantly change how we work, live, educate our children, the very basics of how we interact with each other. In this time of tremendous human and economic challenges, we know that Equitable has a special role to play in our society. Equitable's purpose, to protect families and help guide and secure the financial well-being of our clients, has never been more vital. I'm so proud of my colleagues, the talented professionals who comprise Equitable's workforce who continue to impress us with their dedication and commitment under these unprecedented circumstances. Their ability to adapt, innovate and advise and serve clients at the highest levels, while 98% are working remotely, is nothing short of remarkable. Over Equitable's 161-year history, we have weathered many extraordinary challenges. Today, the strength of our resilient balance sheet and our robust business model show that this challenge will be no different. Our financial position today, with strong capitalization and significant liquidity, is the result of a decade-long disciplined risk management program, complemented by a diverse, high-quality investment portfolio. In managing our business to an economic model, we are ensuring our balance sheet is protected against declines in interest rates and equity markets. By hedging to full economic liabilities, we immunize our balance sheet to future interest rate moves. We are confident that this approach, an important distinction for Equitable, best protects economic value for Equitable and our shareholders over the long term. Thanks to our people, our performance, our strong capitalization and robust business model, Equitable is well positioned to continue delivering on our important mission, to help clients secure their financial well-being so they can pursue long and fulfilling lives. I would now like to turn it back to the Chair of the meeting, Ramon de Oliveira.

Thank you, Mark. I will now formally call to order our 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. As we've noted, we are holding this year's meeting in a virtual format because of the coronavirus in order to protect the health and safety of our stockholders and the other participant and in order to expand access to the meeting. We, in advance, thank you very much for joining us during this challenging time. Now let me begin by introducing the other directors of the company. Attending the meeting today are Daniel Kaye, Joan Lamm-Tennant, Kristi Matus, Bertram Scott, George Stansfield and Charles Stonehill. I would also like to introduce the other members of our leadership team attending the meeting today: Seth Bernstein, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Investment Management and Research; Jeffrey Hurd, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Nick Lane, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Retirement, Wealth Management and Protection Solutions; and Anders Malmström, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Dave Hattem will act as secretary of this annual meeting, and Peter Descovich of Broadridge Financial Solutions will serve as the inspector of election. Mr. Descovich has executed and filed with the company an oath of inspector of election for the purpose of this meeting. I would also like to introduce Matt Adams of PricewaterhouseCooper, our independent registered public accounting firm. The agenda and the rules of procedures for this meeting are available to stockholders in the web portal. The agenda is visible in the top right-hand portion of your screen, and the rules of procedure are available in a link at the bottom right of your screen. Our order of business this morning will be to accept the motions to be considered, collect the votes and then receive a report from the secretary about the results. The polls are currently open. And stakeholders who have not yet voted or who wish to change their votes may do so at any time during the meeting before the polls are closed by clicking on the Vote Here button on the lower right-hand portion of their screen and following the instructions there. Immediately following the adjournment of the business portion of the meeting, Mark Pearson will welcome any questions you may have. You will be able to pose any questions you have using the Ask a Question text box at the lower left-hand side of the virtual meeting portal. All questions that comply with the rules of procedures will be addressed during the Q&A portion of the meeting, time permitting. Our first item on the agenda is the determination of a quorum. The secretary has received proof of affidavit that the Notice of Annual Meeting and proxy statements were mailed to every holder of record of common stock of the company on or about April 8, 2020. The bylaws provide that the presence by participation in this virtual annual meeting or by proxy of stockholders entitled to vote a majority of the shares of common stock outstanding on the record date constitutes a quorum. The inspector of election is in charge of determining the proxies and stockholders present. Dave, do we have a quorum?

Chairman, yes, we do. The inspector of elections reports that the majority of the votes entitled to be cast as of the record date, March 23, 2020, is represented at this meeting.

Thank you. I declare this meeting is to be duly convened for purposes of transacting such business as may properly come before it. I ask Mr. Hattem to read the agenda for the meeting at this time.

There are 4 motions to be voted on by the stockholders. The first motion is for the election of 8 directors for a 1-year term ending at the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. The second motion is for the ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year 2020. The third motion is for the advisory vote to approve the compensation paid to the company's named executive officers. The fourth motion is approval of the amendment of the company's 2019 omnibus incentive plan. These 4 motions have been properly brought before the meeting.

Thank you. The polls are open. If there is any stockholder who has not yet voted and who wants to vote now, or who has previously voted but now wants to change that vote, please click the Vote Here button on the lower right-hand side of the web portal and follow the instructions. If you have already voted by proxy or by phone or Internet and do not wish to change your vote, you do not need to take any further action. [Voting]

Since all stockholders wishing to do so have submitted their proxies or ballots, I now declare the polls closed. I now ask Mr. Hattem to report on the vote.

The inspector of elections has informed me that, subject to the final tabulation, the preliminary result is that proposals 1, 2, 3 and 4 have been approved. Final vote results for each proposal will be filed with the SEC on Form 8-K.

Thank you, Dave. That completes our formal business for today. The 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is now adjourned. I'll turn it over to Mark to address stockholders' question. You may submit a question by using the Ask a Question text box on the lower left-hand side of the web portal. Please note, we will attempt to answer as many question as time allows, but only questions that are germane to the meeting will be addressed. All questions that comply with the rule of procedure for the meeting will be made available on the company's Investor Relation website following the meeting, including any questions we do not get today, along with the company's answers. Thank you for attending our meeting.

Thank you, Chairman. Now I will be pleased to take any questions that stockholders may have. As Chairman stated, all of the questions asked that comply with the meeting's rules will be posted on our Investor Relations site, along with the company's responses. Now I'll turn it over to our Corporate Secretary, David Hattem, to read the questions.

Mark, I see no questions.

Thank you very much again for joining us all today. That concludes the meeting.