Hello, and welcome to this 2021 annual meeting of stockholders of Safehold Inc. Please note that today's meeting is being recorded. During the meeting, we will have a discussion period. You may submit questions or comments at any time by clicking the message icon, typing it into the Ask a Question field on your screen, and clicking Submit. It is now my pleasure to turn today's meeting over to Jeff Dugan, Corporate Secretary of Safehold Inc. Mr. Dugan, the floor is yours.
Thank you, operator. Good morning, and thank you all for joining us today online for our virtual annual meeting. Before I turn things over to our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jay Sugarman, I want to make some general comments. This meeting will be conducted in accordance with the meeting guidelines that are available online. Except for the company representatives conducting this meeting, all participants will be in listen-only mode. As noted, following the formal meeting, there will be Q&A. Written questions and comments may be submitted online. Any statements made during this meeting, including the Q&A session, which are not historical facts, may be forward-looking. The company's actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements, and the risk factors that could cause these differences are detailed in our SEC reports. The company disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law.
I now turn things over to our Chairman and CEO, Jay Sugarman. Jay?
Thanks, Jeff, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I want to welcome you to our 2021 annual meeting of shareholders and call the meeting to order. The other members of our board of directors are on this call this morning. They are Dean Adler, Jay Nydick, Robin Josephs, and Stefan Selig, our Lead Independent Director. In addition, members of our senior executive team are on the call. Marcos Alvarado, our President and Chief Investment Officer, and Douglas Heitner, our Chief Legal Officer. Let me now ask Jeff, as Corporate Secretary, to conduct the formal business portion of this meeting. After the formal business is concluded, I'll make some general remarks, and we'll provide shareholders with an opportunity to ask questions. Jeff?
Thanks, Jay. The formal business of the meeting is outlined in our proxy statement and includes certain matters required by law. The record date for this annual meeting is March 9, 2021. The notice of this meeting, the proxy statement, and the 2020 annual report of the company, which includes our audited financial statements, were first made available on or about April 29, 2021, to the shareholders as of that record date. Our proxy statement reports the number of shares of our common stock that are entitled to vote at this meeting and the voting rights associated with those shares. A list of our shareholders of record on the record date has been available for inspection in accordance with applicable law.
In excess of a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock are represented at this meeting, either in person or by proxy, and therefore, I declare that a quorum is present. Mr. Chris Coleman, a representative of Computershare, our transfer agent, has been appointed Inspector of Election for today's meeting, and he is participating in this call. If any shareholder here today has not yet voted or wishes to change their vote, instructions for submitting votes electronically are set forth online at the internet address for the meeting. The first item of business involves the election of five directors to the company's board. In alphabetical order, the nominees are Dean Adler, Robin Josephs, Jay Nydick, Stefan Selig, and Jay Sugarman. All of these individuals are currently members of our board. The nominees who are elected today will serve one-year terms until the 2022 annual meeting of shareholders.
The second item of business is the ratification of the selection of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the current year. The board of directors has approved the appointment of Deloitte, subject to approval by the company's shareholders. Mr. Todd Friedman, a representative of Deloitte, is participating in today's call. The third item of business is the Say-on-Pay vote, which is a non-binding advisory vote on the compensation of our executive officers, as described in our proxy statement. This is the first year in which the Say-on-Pay vote has been applicable to our company. The fourth and final item of business is a non-binding advisory vote on the frequency of conducting these Say-on-Pay votes.
Your board of directors has recommended votes for Proposal One, the election of five named director nominees, for Proposal Two, the ratification of our independent auditors, for Proposal Three, the Say-on-Pay vote, and on Proposal Four, to hold Say-on-Pay vote every year. Unless there are questions or comments that have been submitted online regarding these proposals, I declare that the polls are closed. The inspector has previously furnished me with a preliminary report of voting results based on the shares voted by proxy prior to the meeting. Based on that preliminary report, a plurality of the votes cast has been voted in favor of the five nominees listed in the proxy statement. Therefore, I declare that these individuals have been elected to serve as directors of the company for one-year terms.
A majority of the votes cast has been voted in favor of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as our independent accounting firm in favor of the Say-on-Pay vote. I declare that these proposals have been approved. I declare that a majority of the votes cast have been voted in favor of holding the Say-on-Pay vote every year. A final report of the voting results will be available online in the next few days and will also be filed with the SEC. That concludes the formal portion of the meeting. There being no other business, I declare the meeting adjourned. Jay, I turn things back to you now.
Thank you, Jeff, and thanks everybody for your support of Safehold Inc. as we conclude another important year for Safehold. In 2020, we continued our journey to reinvent the ground lease industry and provide a new, more efficient capital solution to the $7 trillion commercial real estate market. Despite a very challenging year, given the pandemic and political backdrop, our total shareholder returns exceeded 80%. Let me now respond and ask any questions or comments that have been submitted. If there are no questions, then I thank you for attending our meeting today. Operator, I'll turn it now back to you.
Thank you, sir. Everyone, this concludes the meeting. You may now disconnect and have a pleasant day.
Thank you, operator.
Thanks.