<SEC-DOCUMENT>0001193125-24-154351.txt : 20240604
<SEC-HEADER>0001193125-24-154351.hdr.sgml : 20240604
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20240604170125
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0001193125-24-154351
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	DEFA14A
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20240604
DATE AS OF CHANGE:		20240604

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			Evercore Inc.
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0001360901
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	INVESTMENT ADVICE [6282]
		ORGANIZATION NAME:           	02 Finance
		IRS NUMBER:				204748747
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			DE
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		DEFA14A
		SEC ACT:		1934 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	001-32975
		FILM NUMBER:		241019154

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		55 EAST 52ND STREET
		STREET 2:		38TH FLOOR
		CITY:			NEW YORK
		STATE:			NY
		ZIP:			10055
		BUSINESS PHONE:		212-857-3100

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		55 EAST 52ND STREET
		STREET 2:		38TH FLOOR
		CITY:			NEW YORK
		STATE:			NY
		ZIP:			10055

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	Evercore Partners Inc.
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	20060427
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<DESCRIPTION>DEFA14A
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<P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:18pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B>SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION </B></P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B>Washington, D.C. 20549 </B></P> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P><center>
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<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman; " ALIGN="left">Preliminary Proxy Statement </P></TD></TR></TABLE>
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<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman; " ALIGN="left">Definitive Proxy Statement </P></TD></TR></TABLE>
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<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman; " ALIGN="left">Definitive Additional Materials </P></TD></TR></TABLE>
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<P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:18pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B>EVERCORE INC. </B></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B>(Name of
Registrant as Specified In Its Charter) </B></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B>(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant) </B></P>
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<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman; " ALIGN="left">Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules
<FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">14a-6(i)(1)</FONT> and <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">0-11</FONT> </P></TD></TR></TABLE> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
<P STYLE="line-height:1.0pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;border-bottom:1px solid #000000">&nbsp;</P> <P STYLE="line-height:3.0pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:2pt;border-bottom:1px solid #000000">&nbsp;</P>
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 <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Dear Shareholder: </P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:6pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">I hope that this finds you well. We are two weeks away from our Annual Meeting on June 18<SUP STYLE="font-size:75%; vertical-align:top">th</SUP>. ISS recently
released their report on our Annual Meeting and, as they have done in the past,&nbsp;they&nbsp;recommended against our equity plan proposal. Despite ISS consistently recommending against our equity plan, our shareholders have supported us on each of
our past three equity plan proposals. Our request this year is consistent with those previous requests. Our shareholders understand the key elements of our equity compensation program and recognize the flaws in ISS&#146; model for a human capital
business like ours.</P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">I have attached our response to ISS. The key points that we make are: </P>
<P STYLE="font-size:6pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P ALIGN="left" STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">Our use of equity has been a key factor in enabling the execution of our growth strategy, contributing to our
5-Year TSR as of 12/31/23 of 172%, which outpaces our peers, the S&amp;P500 and the S&amp;P500 Financials (as discussed in more detail in our proxy materials). </P></TD></TR></TABLE>
<P STYLE="font-size:6pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P ALIGN="left" STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">Despite the concerns raised by the proxy advisors for nearly a decade regarding &#147;potential&#148; dilution,
in practice we have consistently fulfilled our commitment to our shareholders by offsetting the dilutive effect of our equity grants through our share repurchase program, and have had a negative net burn rate of -3.5% over the last 3 years. In fact,
our outstanding share count has consistently decreased despite our use of equity (rather than cash) as compensation. </P></TD></TR></TABLE> <P STYLE="font-size:6pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P ALIGN="left" STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">As a human capital business, our equity compensation program is different from many financial services firms in
that it is very broad-based (over 90% of equity awards over the last 3 years have gone to non-NEOs), administered responsibly, and has been critical to our ability recruit, retain and motivate our talented employees. </P></TD></TR></TABLE>
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<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P ALIGN="left" STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">We strongly believe that our broad-based use of equity compensation (as opposed to cash) is critical because it
aligns the interests of our employees with shareholders and permits cash which otherwise would be used for employee compensation to be returned to shareholders, in each case fueling the returns we have delivered over the past several years.
</P></TD></TR></TABLE> <P STYLE="font-size:6pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P ALIGN="left" STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">When we requested more shares in 2022, we only requested a limited number of shares to get us through
approximately two more years. We now do not have enough shares remaining to manage our equity compensation program and growth strategy over the next 2-3 years, and are requesting shares to cover that period. </P></TD></TR></TABLE>
<P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">We would very much appreciate the opportunity to discuss further with you prior to our Annual Meeting to address any concerns you may have.&nbsp;Please let me
know if there is a time that works best for you in the coming days.&nbsp;Thank you for your time and consideration of this very important matter for us. </P>
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 <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Dear Shareholder: </P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:6pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">We are writing to ask for your critical support for the proposals to be voted on at Evercore&#146;s 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and to
express our appreciation for your independent analysis in conducting your evaluation.&nbsp;Our Board continues to unanimously recommend you cast your vote FOR all proposals, and we would like to draw your attention specifically to Proposal
No.&nbsp;4, our proposal to increase the number of shares available under our equity incentive plan by 6.0&nbsp;million shares.<B>&nbsp;We are requesting additional shares because we do not have enough shares remaining to manage and grow our
business over the next approximately two to three years consistent with our strategy.</B> The additional shares are necessary in order to continue providing a significant portion of our incentive compensation in the form of equity, which aligns the
interests of our employees and stockholders, and recruiting and retaining talented professionals.</P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">In its report (the &#147;ISS
Report&#148;), Institutional Shareholder Services (&#147;ISS&#148;) supported our <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap"><FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">say-on-pay</FONT></FONT> proposal and overall compensation program, acknowledging the alignment of
pay and performance among other best practices of our compensation program.&nbsp;Nevertheless, consistent with its recommendation on our equity plan proposals for the past decade, ISS ultimately recommends shareholders vote against Proposal
No.&nbsp;4, based on its application of quantitative tests that have significant flaws when applied to our business and compensation models, industry, and equity compensation needs.&nbsp;Given its recommendation, and the importance of the proposal
to our long-standing business and compensation strategy, we believe it is imperative that we highlight the flaws in the ISS analysis, which we have described in detail in <U>Attachment A</U>.</P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">In addition to the flaws with its analysis, the ISS Report does not address the significant implications for us and our shareholders if their
recommendation is followed.&nbsp;If our proposal fails, we will not have access to additional shares and we would be required to take one or more actions that our Board believes are not in the best interests of shareholders: </P>
<P STYLE="font-size:6pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P ALIGN="left" STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">Replace the compensation paid to our employees in equity with cash, thereby decreasing their long-term alignment
with investors and reducing cash available to distribute to shareholders; </P></TD></TR></TABLE> <P STYLE="font-size:6pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P ALIGN="left" STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">Reduce the proportion of client-facing and revenue-generating employees that receive equity compensation,
limiting the scope of our employee base that is aligned with shareholders and similarly reducing cash available to distribute to shareholders; or </P></TD></TR></TABLE> <P STYLE="font-size:6pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P ALIGN="left" STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">Reduce our overall employee compensation, which is currently competitive and required to retain, motivate, and
recruit&nbsp;our team, especially in the midst of increased competition for top talent.</P></TD></TR></TABLE> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Evercore believes that any of these actions
would be detrimental to our ability to continue executing our long-term strategy and creating value for shareholders. </P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">As you make your
voting decision, we ask that you bear in mind that as a human capital-based business, we use equity differently than many other companies, including other financial companies.&nbsp;Equity is a fundamental element of our <FONT
STYLE="white-space:nowrap">pay-for&#150;performance</FONT> compensation and retention philosophy that motivates our employees throughout the organization.&nbsp;Over the past three years, more than 90% of all equity awards granted have been granted
to <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">non-executive</FONT> officers. We also appreciate your consideration of the impact of our share repurchases, which is neglected in the ISS Report but has resulted in an average net negative burn rate of <FONT
STYLE="white-space:nowrap">-3.5%</FONT> over the past three years.<B></B>&nbsp;This has contributed meaningfully to our strong financial performance and the achievement of a <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">5-year</FONT> total stockholder return as
of December&nbsp;31, 2023 of 172%, which outpaces our peers, the S&amp;P500 and the S&amp;P500 Financials (as discussed in more detail in our proxy materials). </P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Our 2024 proposal requests only the amount of shares that we believe are necessary to manage and grow our business over the next approximately
two to three years. We have a track record of prudent equity compensation management, which has been critical for the successful execution of our long-term strategy, employee retention and in our recruitment and promotion of our Senior Managing
Directors (SMDs). We will continue to work with ISS in the hope that they will develop quantitative measures that accurately reflect our business.&nbsp;We thank you for the time you have focused on this matter and your careful consideration of this
proposal, and <B>for all the previously discussed reasons, our Board recommends that you vote &#147;FOR&#148; Proposal No.</B><B></B><B>&nbsp;4.</B> </P>
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 <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B><U>Attachment A </U></B></P>
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<TD WIDTH="4%" VALIGN="top" ALIGN="left"><B>I.</B></TD>
<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman; " ALIGN="left"><B>ISS&#146; Report Positively Highlights Numerous Qualitative Aspects of our Overall Compensation Practices
</B></P></TD></TR></TABLE> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">As a preliminary matter, in analyzing the ISS report, it is important to recognize that the adverse recommendation
was not due to concerns with the attributes of our overall compensation program or our underlying corporate governance policies. In fact, ISS supported our <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap"><FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">say-on-pay</FONT></FONT>
proposal again this year. In particular, ISS found that the pay and performance of our CEO is reasonably aligned and found that support for our compensation committee members is warranted. It also acknowledged the best practices in our plan and our
compensation program more broadly: </P> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; margin-left:6.00em; text-indent:-2.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&#10003;&#8195;&#8201;No repricing (or cash buybacks) of underwater stock options or stock
appreciation rights</P> <P STYLE="font-size:6pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; margin-left:6.00em; text-indent:-2.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&#10003;&#8195;&#8201;No
&#147;evergreen&#148; provision</P> <P STYLE="font-size:6pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; margin-left:6.00em; text-indent:-2.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&#10003;&#8195;&#8201;No &#147;reload&#148; equity awards</P>
<P STYLE="font-size:6pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:1pt; margin-left:6.00em; text-indent:-2.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&#10003;&#8195;&#8201;No &#147;liberal share
recycling</P></TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; margin-left:2.00em; text-indent:-2.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&#10003;&#8195;&#8201;No hedging of equity securities</P>
<P STYLE="font-size:6pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; margin-left:2.00em; text-indent:-2.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&#10003;&#8195;&#8201;Four-year deferred vesting
of RSUs</P> <P STYLE="font-size:6pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; margin-left:2.00em; text-indent:-2.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&#10003;&#8195;&#8201;Alignment of
Pay and Performance</P> <P STYLE="font-size:6pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:1pt; margin-left:2.00em; text-indent:-2.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&#10003;&#8195;&#8201;Short estimated plan duration</P></TD></TR>
</TABLE> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">While ISS is aligned with us in its support of our overall compensation program and our Compensation Committee
members, it does not support our use of equity compensation, which is a core component of that program and an important and effective vehicle for delivering a portion of overall compensation for a human capital-based business. Dating back to our
early years as a public company, our Compensation Committee, whose membership has been refreshed over the years, has consistently viewed equity compensation as a critical component of our overall compensation program. This structure has served us
well, as can be seen by the talented and highly productive SMDs we have hired and retained over the years and our strong growth, as described in our 2024 Proxy Statement. </P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Shareholders have also recognized the value of our compensation program. Over the past several years, more than 92&nbsp;percent of votes cast
have supported our <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap"><FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">say-on-pay</FONT></FONT> proposal and our shareholders have supported each of our three prior equity plan proposals. Our engagement with shareholders has revealed
that the broad support for our overall program and use of equity is due to our shareholders taking the time to understand our business model and the benefits of using equity compensation in a human capital-based business and the flaws in ISS&#146;s
models. </P> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TD WIDTH="4%" VALIGN="top" ALIGN="left"><B>II.</B></TD>
<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman; " ALIGN="left"><B>The ISS Report Provides no Qualitative Assessment of the Benefits of our Broad-Based Equity Plan Relative to
its Quantitative tests. </B></P></TD></TR></TABLE> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">The ISS recommendation against our equity plan proposal is based solely on our performance
under a series of flawed quantitative tests without any qualitative analysis or discussion as to mitigating factors. Instead, the discussion section in the ISS Report for our proposal is limited to two conclusory statements that &#147;the equity
compensation program is potentially excessively dilutive&#148; along with their estimation of dilution prior to factoring in our anti-dilutive actions. Quantitative tests that ignore the anti-dilutive component of our Board&#146;s recommendation
should at a minimum be accompanied by a qualitative analysis as to whether the benefits of a broad-based equity program offset by share repurchases justify the associated increased use of equity. Yet, this qualitative analysis (or even an
acknowledgment of this component of our equity compensation program) is entirely absent in the ISS Report. This is particularly concerning given the inconsistency between ISS&#146; findings of a &#147;potential&#148; dilutive impact in each of our
past three equity plan proposals and our commitment to manage dilution through our share repurchases (which has led to a declining share count over the course of each plan period). </P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Our historically successful compensation and business model is inherently in conflict with the rigid quantitative tests that are an overriding
factor in ISS&#146; recommendation.&nbsp;By the design of the quantitative tests in the ISS Report, it is nearly impossible for companies like Evercore to have meaningfully broad-based equity compensation programs and receive a positive
recommendation, given the tests penalize broad-based equity grants, fail to credit the associated repurchases designed to offset the potential dilution and use the resulting lower share count in the denominator to further penalize us. </P>
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 <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Notwithstanding the impact it has on our ability to pass the rigid ISS quantitative tests,
our broad-based use of equity compensation is deliberate. Our Board fundamentally believes the qualitative benefit of issuing deferred equity as compensation to our client-facing and revenue generating employees has a meaningful impact on our
business that, when coupled with our anti-dilutive actions, is in the best interests of our shareholders and outweighs the negative impact, if any, that broad equity grants may have. This long-held belief, supported by our strong results over the
past decade, dates back to our early years as a public company, and we believe the failure to provide any sort of qualitative rationale or assessment of our plan relative to the quantitative test results is a fundamental flaw in ISS&#146; analysis.
</P> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TR style = "page-break-inside:avoid">
<TD WIDTH="4%" VALIGN="top" ALIGN="left"><B>III.</B></TD>
<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman; " ALIGN="left"><B>The ISS Report Excludes from Its Quantitative Burn-Rate and Dilution Analyses the Anti-Dilutive Impact of
our Share Repurchases. </B></P></TD></TR></TABLE> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Our share repurchases are a key component of our Board&#146;s belief in our equity
compensation program. While we have deployed equity broadly throughout our organization, we have done so without diluting our shareholders due to our share repurchases. However, the ISS report fails to take into account our share repurchases , which
mitigates concerns regarding our rate of equity usage and the dilutive impact of our equity plan proposal. </P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">This decision has a
substantial impact on ISS&#146; burn rate analysis. ISS calculates our unadjusted <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">3-year</FONT> average burn rate at 5.99%, even though over that period we have repurchased sufficient shares to more than offset not
only equity awards granted as part of annual incentive compensation, but also new hire and replacement equity awards, resulting in a net burn rate of <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">-3.5%</FONT> and satisfaction of the ISS benchmarks. The ISS
models then penalize us twice, as despite ISS&#146; dilution analysis, our anti-dilutive actions have led to consistently lowered share count over the past several years. This reduction of total shares outstanding, due in large part to our share
repurchase program, decreases the denominator in their quantitative tests but fails to correspondingly offset overall equity issuances in the numerator consistent with our historical share repurchase practices. By ignoring our anti-dilutive actions,
which have more than offset plan dilution over the past three years, the ISS tests are fundamentally incompatible with our shareholder-approved equity compensation model. However, they are a gating factor for obtaining a positive recommendation. In
other words, the necessary result of tailoring our equity compensation plan to the ISS benchmark would be a significant overhaul of our longstanding compensation program that has been repeatedly approved by our Board and shareholders and has
contributed significantly to our growth and success. </P> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TR style = "page-break-inside:avoid">
<TD WIDTH="4%" VALIGN="top" ALIGN="left"><B>IV.</B></TD>
<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman; " ALIGN="left"><B>The ISS Report Compares Our Equity Compensation Practices to a Peer Group with Materially Different Capital
Structures and Business Models. </B></P></TD></TR></TABLE> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Our Board, considering all relevant factors, has consistently determined it is in
the best interests of our shareholders to employ a broad-based equity compensation program paired together with anti-dilutive actions. Our direct peers, other publicly traded independent investment banking advisory firms, similarly operate human
capital based businesses and have decided to employ similar equity compensation programs. Our use of equity and related performance on quantitative tests is comparable to this peer group. For example, while we do not believe that traditional burn
rate calculations that are calculated without taking into account repurchases are a meaningful metric for us on a standalone basis, these metrics do demonstrate that our equity compensation practices are in line with our direct public independent
investment banking advisory firm peer group. </P>
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<TD VALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="21%"></TD>
<TD></TD>
<TD></TD>
<TD></TD></TR>
<TR STYLE="page-break-inside:avoid ; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:8pt">
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;</TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom" COLSPAN="2" ALIGN="center" STYLE="border-bottom:1.00pt solid #000000"><B><FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">Three-Year&nbsp;Average</FONT></B><br><B>Burn&nbsp;Rate&nbsp;(Excluding</B><br><B>Share Repurchases)*</B></TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;</TD></TR>


<TR BGCOLOR="#cceeff" STYLE="page-break-inside:avoid ; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; margin-left:1.00em; text-indent:-1.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman"><B>Evercore</B></P></TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom"><B></B>&nbsp;</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom" ALIGN="right"><B>6.6</B></TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom"><B>%</B>&nbsp;</TD></TR>
<TR STYLE="page-break-inside:avoid ; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; margin-left:1.00em; text-indent:-1.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman"><B>Lazard</B></P></TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom" ALIGN="right">5.2</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom">%&nbsp;</TD></TR>
<TR BGCOLOR="#cceeff" STYLE="page-break-inside:avoid ; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; margin-left:1.00em; text-indent:-1.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman"><B>Moelis</B></P></TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom" ALIGN="right">4.5</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom">%&nbsp;</TD></TR>
<TR STYLE="page-break-inside:avoid ; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; margin-left:1.00em; text-indent:-1.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman"><B>PJT Partners</B></P></TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom" ALIGN="right">5.0</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom">%&nbsp;</TD></TR>
<TR BGCOLOR="#cceeff" STYLE="page-break-inside:avoid ; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; margin-left:1.00em; text-indent:-1.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman"><B>Greenhill</B></P></TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom" ALIGN="right">9.8</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom">%&nbsp;</TD></TR>
<TR STYLE="page-break-inside:avoid ; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; margin-left:1.00em; text-indent:-1.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman"><B>Houlihan Lokey</B></P></TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom" ALIGN="right">3.0</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom">%&nbsp;</TD></TR>
<TR BGCOLOR="#cceeff" STYLE="page-break-inside:avoid ; font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:10pt">
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; margin-left:1.00em; text-indent:-1.00em; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman"><B>Perella Weinberg Partners</B></P></TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom" ALIGN="right">5.9</TD>
<TD NOWRAP VALIGN="bottom">%&nbsp;</TD></TR>
</TABLE> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TR style = "page-break-inside:avoid">
<TD WIDTH="2%" VALIGN="top" ALIGN="left"><I>*</I></TD>
<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman; " ALIGN="left"><I>See pgs. <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">76-77</FONT> of our 2024 Proxy Statement, available at <U><FONT
STYLE="white-space:nowrap">https://investors.evercore.com/shareholder-services/online-investor-kit</FONT></U>, for methodology.</I> </P></TD></TR></TABLE>
<P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">The core of ISS&#146; analysis, however, is a comparison of our equity plan, practices and test results against benchmarks derived from a peer
group that we believe is likely to be inappropriate for our business. Our ISS peer group is drawn from companies within the broad &#147;Financial Services&#148; GICS sector designation &#150; a designation which includes many mortgage REITs,
consumer and specialized finance companies, lending and trading firms and other <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">non-human</FONT> capital-based businesses that do not share our rationale for broadly using equity, putting Evercore at a meaningful
disadvantage relative to these. The ISS Report implicitly recognizes this. Its analysis of our grant practices relative to our peer group reveals that our <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">3-year</FONT> average of grants to our NEOs is more than five
times smaller than our GICS peer group average. In other words, we employ a fundamentally different and broader equity compensation program than our peers, yet the merits of our program are measured against the same tests. Conclusions drawn from
this &#147;peer group&#148; are likely to provide distorted results and, not surprisingly, when compared against benchmarks derived from this inappropriate peer group, our results on quantitative tests are not comparable. </P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">There are several reasons for this. Our core business is our provision of advisory services, which require limited financial capital but
substantial human capital. Several of the named peers in our group are lending and trading firms. These firms often generate revenue based upon financial capital through services such as prime brokerage, clearing transactions, loans and other
financings. They do not share the same alignment and retention benefit as us from broadly using equity compensation. In addition, these firms maintain large back-office staffs focused on the clearance and settlement of securities transactions,
maintenance of customer accounts, including margin lending, and support of principal trading activities, and these individuals tend to receive lower amounts of or no deferred compensation and therefore little or no equity compensation. </P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Our ISS peer group also includes several investment management focused firms. These firms often compensate individuals through deferred
compensation plans tied to the products offered by the asset manager, such as carried interest. This strategy aligns the interests of portfolio managers with their clients, rather than their firm&#146;s shareholders. For these firms, equity plans
often focus on a smaller group of senior executives, in stark contrast with our broad-based program. </P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">We recommend that you do not rely on
comparisons of equity programs across fundamentally different businesses. Instead, we continue to believe that our direct peers &#150; publicly traded independent investment banking advisory firms &#150; are the best comparison for purposes of
evaluating our equity compensation program. As discussed herein and in greater detail in our proxy statement, our equity compensation practices are comparable with our direct peer group. </P>
<P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TD WIDTH="4%" VALIGN="top" ALIGN="left"><B>V.</B></TD>
<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE=" margin-top:0pt ; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman; " ALIGN="left"><B>Conclusion </B></P></TD></TR></TABLE>
<P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">In closing, we ask that as you make your voting decision, you consider the concerns identified in this Attachment when evaluating the ISS
recommendation. While we understand ISS&#146; rationale for maintaining a standard quantitative framework, we believe it does a disservice to our shareholders by failing to compare us to an appropriate peer group and refusing to adjust its analysis
for our anti-dilutive practices. <B>We thank you for the time you have focused on this matter and your careful consideration of this proposal, and for all the previously discussed reasons, our Board recommends that you vote &#147;FOR&#148; Proposal
No.</B><B></B><B>&nbsp;4.</B> </P>
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