As a gathering of shareholders, the General Meeting elects its representatives on the Supervisory Board and decides on whether to approve the activities of the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board. It decides on profit distributions, measures to procure or decrease capital, approval of affiliation agreements as well as changes to the Articles of Association. In German insurance companies the annual auditor is appointed by the Supervisory Board, not the General Meeting. An ordinary Annual General Meeting (AGM) takes place every fiscal year. All voting procedures within the General Meeting of Allianz SE are based on the one-share-one-vote principle. Every shareholder is entitled to participate at the General Meeting, to comment on any items on the agenda, to ask pertinent questions and to propose motions. Shareholders who do not wish to participate at the General Meeting in person, can exercise their voting right via proxies. For this purpose there are proxy holders appointed by Allianz SE as well as banks and shareholder associations. Authority and instructions can also be given via the Internet.