Headlines about "Ret plan investments - social"
Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
Unhappy with Scandal, New York Municipal Pension Funds to Vote Against Wal-Mart Directors
"Concerned about Wal-Mart's reported cover-up of bribery in its Mexico operations, leaders of New York City's pension funds said ... they would vote their 4.7 million company shares against five directors standing for re-election to the retailer's board at its annual shareholder meeting next month." (The New York Times; free registration required)
CalPERS Releases First Report on Its Environmental, Social and Governance Work
"The report explains the fiduciary framework [CalPERS has] adopted to integrate sustainability across the total fund, illustrates achievements from the last few years, and outlines [the] vision for the future. [Contents include] CalPERS views on Sustainable Investing; The '3 Ps' of the CalPERS program: Priorities, Performance and Procurement; How CalPERS integrates ESG in its own operations; [CalPERS] strategic themes of alignment of interest, climate change and human capital[.]" (CalPERS)
Young Investors Using New Tools to Weight Equities More Heavily in Asset Allocation
"Despite concerns about the global financial crisis and its impact on the willingness of younger investors to enter the stock market, twentysomethings actually have higher equity allocations in defined contribution (DC) plans than previous generations had at the same age." (Vanguard)
Should Public Pensions Be Invested in Infrastructure?
"A big-city labor leader, an investment expert and a long-time senior public start talking about public-employee pensions.... They agreed that the first objective in pension investments should be to assure that the money would be there to pay benefit obligations when they come due. But they also agreed that ... pensions should invest in a way to address the enormous infrastructure needs of state and local government and that doing so could, in fact, earn the funds a more than adequate return." (Governing)
Pension Funds Are For-Profit
"California's Constitution clearly states the California Public Employees' Retirement System's (CalPERS) singular motive is to make profits.... However, CalPERS board members are not content to merely try to maximize profits. Instead, CalPERS board orders account managers to deviate from the profit system in favor of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) principles." (OpenMarket.org)
Ensure your Plan Participants are Prepared for a Secure Retirement
Defined Contribution Conference, March 11-13, in Miami. Learn from your peers through presentations and discussions on plan design, communications, investment options and more. FREE registration for qualified plan sponsors. (Pensions & Investments)
Avoid the Common Mistakes Affecting Plan Loans Webcast
Earn CE credit while ERISA expert, Charles Lockwood, JD, LLM, explains the administrative issues that affect plan loans. Have questions? Charles will address them either during or after the webcast. March 22nd at 2pm EST. (ASC)
[Opinion] The Pension Promise
"Jewish social service groups, along with other nonprofits seeking to cut pension costs, are using a controversial tax loophole to skirt federal rules that protect workers from being left with little or nothing if their retirement plans collapse." (The Jewish Daily Forward)
Facebook's Corporate Governance Rules a Concern for CalSTRS
"Facebook's corporate governance rules, which give shareholders little say in how the social networking website would be run as a public company, are raising the hackles of one of the largest U.S. investors, the California State Teachers' Retirement System." (Reuters via The New York Times; free registration required)
[Opinion] The Case Against Pension-Financed Infrastructure
"Media reports have indicated that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been considering the use of public pension funds to finance the replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge and to underwrite other infrastructure investments in the Empire State. This is a bad idea, harmful both to the governmental employees of the Empire State and to New York's taxpayers. Using public pension monies in this fashion trades the immediate benefits of public construction for the long-term cost of underfunded public retirement plans." (Oxford University Press, Inc.)
More 401(k) Retirement Plans Are Offering 'Socially Responsible' Funds
"A recent survey by human resources consulting group Mercer found that 14% of 401(k) plans now offer a socially responsible option; the number is expected to double within the next three years." (Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
Consumer Finance: Regulatory Coverage Generally Exists for Financial Planners, But Consumer Protection Issues Remain (PDF)
"This report examines (1) how financial planners are regulated and overseen at the federal and state levels, (2) what is known about the effectiveness of this regulation, and (3) the advantages and disadvantages of alternative regulatory approaches." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
[Guidance Overview] New Hampshire High Court Upholds Pension Divestment
See item #8. Excerpt: "Because the trial court found that the trustees could not comply with the Sudan Divestment Act without violating their common law fiduciary duties, the Supreme Court declined to decide what standard to apply in determining whether a trustee who complies with the Sudan Divestment Act has met his fiduciary duties. Given the absence of a definitive ruling, the court remanded the case to the trial court to determine whether the Sudan Divestment Act impermissibly interferes with the trustees' statutory or common law fiduciary duties." (Cypen & Cypen)
Pension Funds and Socially Responsible Investment: Results of an Expert Survey
Excerpt: "Environmental criteria are considered to be the most important element of the SRI concept. Respondents agreed that the growing SRI trend is being driven much less by the expectation of higher returns or lower risk as it is by public pressure." (Social Science Research Network)
New Missouri Bill Requires Terrorism Divestment in Pension Funds
Excerpt: "A former treasurer for the state of Missouri is working with a state lawmaker to push a measure that would prohibit state pension systems from investments in companies tied to terrorism." (PLANSPONSOR.com)
[Opinion] Overcoming Short-termism: A Call for A More Responsible Approach to Investment and Business Management
This post on The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation is a statement by the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program's Corporate Values Strategy Group, of which John Olson is a signatory, along with 27 other business, investment, academic, & labor leaders. Excerpt: "We believe a healthy society requires healthy and responsible companies that effectively pursue long-term goals. Yet in recent years, boards, managers, shareholders with varying agendas, and regulators, all, to one degree or another, have allowed short-term considerations to overwhelm the desirable long-term growth and sustainable profit objectives of the corporation. We believe that short-term objectives have eroded faith in corporations continuing to be the foundation of the American free enterprise system, which has been, in turn, the foundation of our economy. Restoring that faith critically requires restoring a longterm focus for boards, managers, and most particularly, shareholders -- if not voluntarily, then by appropriate regulation." (The President and Fellows of Harvard College)
Making Defined Benefit Plans Sustainable Through Plan Design and Dynamic Liability-Driven Investing
Excerpt: "There's another way to reduce the cost and the risk associated with many DB plans today other than freezing or terminating them. 'Going green' through a combination of plan design and dynamic LDI can help make DB plans sustainable without hindering the sponsor organization's ability to compete. Evan Inglis, Vanguard chief actuary, and Paul Bosse, principal, Vanguard Investment Strategy Group, describe how. This article appeared in a special insert to the August 11, 2009, issue of Pensions & Investments." (The Vanguard Group, Inc.)
Interpretive Bulletin 08-1 and Economically Targeted Investing: A Missed Opportunity
Excerpt: "The assets held in trust by employee benefit plan fiduciaries represent compensation earned by plan participants. In accordance with the duty of loyalty codified by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ('ERISA'), such assets must be invested with single-minded concern for the welfare of the participants and their beneficiaries. Economically targeted investing contravenes ERISA's duty of loyalty by permitting, indeed encouraging, plan trustees to invest plan assets to generate ancillary benefits for persons other than the participants whose labor is embodied in those assets." (USC Gould School of Law)
Coalition of U.S. State Pension Funds Supports Private Equity Industry's Opposition to New Rules on Takeovers of Troubled Lenders
Excerpt: "The measures would have 'a chilling effect on private capital participation in the acquisition of failed banks,' the state pension funds said in a letter to the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, according to the paper. The warning by funds from states including New York, New Jersey and Oregon is expected to strengthen the buy-out industry's lobbying against the proposed measures, the paper said. The FDIC will meet next week to vote on a proposed policy that would force private equity groups to maintain high capital levels and put a large amount of their own money at stake when investing in failed banks." (Reuters via The New York Times; free registration required)
[Opinion] The Academy's Pension Practice Council's Response to GASB's Invitation to Comment on Pension Accounting and Financial Reporting (PDF)
42 pages. Excerpt: "The Academy response specifically addresses pension matters." (American Academy of Actuaries)
ERISA Requires Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Considerations, U.N. Report Says
Excerpt: "Pension fund fiduciaries under ERISA are 'arguably required' to integrate environmental, social and corporate governance factors into their regular investment decision-making process, Paul A. Hilton, director of advanced equities research, Calvert Investments, said today at a teleconference on a new United Nations report on such fiduciary responsibility. 'These ESG issue are increasingly becoming very real and material issues that have bottom-line impacts on companies,' Mr. Hilton said . . . . 'And so with that understanding, it's clear, unlike (using only) a simple value approach, an approach that integrates these (factors) as part of the regular investment process is arguably required by any major fiduciary and that certainly holds true' under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, Mr. Hilton said . . . ." (Pensions & Investments)
Bill to Require 'Say on Pay' Introduced in Senate (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Companies [would be required to] give shareholders an annual non-binding vote on executive compensation as disclosed in the proxy statement pursuant to SEC compensation disclosure rules (i.e., 'Say on Pay'). Say on Pay is currently required for companies that received financial assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and filed their proxy statements after February 17, 2009. In the prior Congress Say on Pay legislation was passed by the House of Representatives, and Say on Pay provisions were included in Senate bills introduced by then Senators Clinton and Obama. A number of non-TARP companies have announced voluntary adoption of Say on Pay." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
[Opinion] Brief Analysis of Socially Responsible Investing
Excerpt: "Socially responsible investing (SRI) is the practice of choosing stocks, bonds or mutual funds based on political, religious or social values. This investment strategy can be hazardous to an individual's portfolio, and if followed by state and local employee pension funds can adversely affect thousands of people's retirement incomes." (National Center for Policy Analysis)
Think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Were a Politicized Financial Disaster? Just Wait Until Pension Funds Implode
Excerpt: "State, local, and private pension plans covering millions of government employees and union workers with 'defined benefit' accounts are teetering on the brink of implosion, victims of both a sinking stock market and investment strategies influenced by political considerations. From January to October 2008, defined benefit funds -- those promising a predetermined amount of retirement money to the payee -- averaged losses of 26 percent, according to Northern Trust Investment Risk and Analytical Services, making it the worst year on record for corporate and public pension funds." (Reason Magazine)
Fiduciary Responsibility and ETIs: A Conflict?
Excerpt: "The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Interpretive Bulletin 08-1, which warns plan fiduciaries against selecting investments to promote public policy preferences. The notice specifically addresses economically targeted investments (ETIs), which create economic benefits apart from their investment return. The bulletin replaces Interpretive Bulletin 94-1 and clarifies and formalizes the DOL's position." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Investment Funds Push an Environmental Agenda - Pension Funds Joining the Effort
Excerpt: "Until recently, green investment funds were mostly a niche for individual investors. But now investing with the idea of improving the environmental actions of corporations, not just maximizing profit, is catching on among some big pension funds and foundations, particularly in Europe and even in the United States." (The New York Times; free registration required)
[Guidance Overview] ERISA for Money Managers (PDF)
84-page PDF version of November 13, 2008 Powerpoint presentation. (Morgan Lewis)
[Guidance Overview] EBSA Clarifies Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting
Excerpt: "Emphasizing that a key consideration is whether the shareholder activity ? the proxy voting, the statement of investment policy, or shareholder activism ? seeks to enhance the economic value of the plan's investments (and does not subordinate the economic interest of the plan to unrelated objectives), the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued Interpretive Bulletin 08-2 to update its prior guidance on the duties of ERISA fiduciaries when exercising shareholder rights." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)
It Takes a Plan to Ride Out Bad Times with 401(k) Savings
The article discusses some of the biggest mistakes 401(k) participants could make and offers some positive steps to take. (USA TODAY)
[Guidance Overview] EBSA Reinforces Position on Investment of Plan Assets and Shareholder Rights
Excerpt: "The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued new guidance clarifying the obligations of plan fiduciaries concerning investments in economically targeted investments and shareholder rights. . . . The guidance, issued in the form of two interpretive bulletins, reiterates that plan fiduciaries, who are charged by law with the responsibility for operating employee benefit plans on behalf of plan participants, may never increase expenses, sacrifice investment returns, or reduce the security of plan benefits in order to promote legislative, regulatory or public policy goals that have no connection to the payment of benefits or plan administrative expenses." (Wolters Kluwer)
[Guidance Overview] DOL's Updated Fiduciary Guidance on Exercising Shareholder Rights and Making Economically Targeted Investments
Excerpt: "On October 17, 2008, the Department of Labor published two interpretive bulletins under Employee Retirement Income Security Act: [1st -] the Department of Labor has published an interpretive bulletin relating to exercise of shareholder rights and written statements of investment policy, including proxy voting policies or guidelines. [The target page provides] summaries of the four categories treated . . . ." (Cypen & Cypen)
[Opinion] Should Feds Rescue Retirement System, Too?
Excerpt: "Even before the recent collapse of investment values, the paltry sums in private retirement accounts caused concern if not alarm among pension and retirement experts. Now, the wolf is not only at the door but in the room, and is devouring what little remains of the financial future of millions of Americans. Pretty much all of Washington is shoveling hundreds of billions of dollars to shore up the nation's financial system and restore liquidity to the global credit system. And there is growing if belated support for providing direct aid to millions of homeowners who otherwise can't afford to stay in their homes. But while these concerns are front and center, there's been little but hand-wringing when it comes to the huge losses suffered by individual retirement accounts, what's left of traditional private defined benefit pensions, and state and local retirement programs." (U.S. News & World Report)
[Opinion] American Fiduciaries Must Not Vote Plan Proxies
Excerpt: "On October 17, 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor issued and Interpretive Bulletin Relating to Exercise of Shareholder Rights for pension funds regulated by ERISA, the federal pension law. The crux of the ruling was that U.S. pension funds subject to ERISA may no longer vote their proxies if they want to avoid the risk of investigation and possible prosecution by the federal government." (Global Investment Watch)
[Guidance Overview] DOL Updates Guidance on Economically Targeted Investments, Exercise of Shareholder Rights
Excerpt: "The DOL has issued interpretive bulletins that update its guidelines on economically targeted investments and the exercise of shareholder rights. Under the updated guidelines, plan fiduciaries may not consider any factor other than the economic interest of the plan when selecting plan investments, except in specified -- and very limited -- circumstances. Similarly, when exercising shareholder rights, plan fiduciaries may not engage in shareholder activism and socially directed proxy voting unless they reasonably expect that those activities will enhance the economic value of the plan's investment." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
Plan Assets for Retirements, Not Politics, Department of Labor Says
Excerpt: "One DOL bulletin, on economically targeted investments, clarifies that 'fiduciary consideration of non-economic factors should be rare and, when considered, must comply with ERISA's rigorous fiduciary standards,' according to a DOL news release issued Thursday, October 16. The second bulletin, on shareholder rights issues, clarifies that plan fiduciaries 'may never increase expenses, sacrifice investment returns or reduce the security of plan benefits in order to promote legislative, regulatory or public policy goals that have no connection to the payment of benefits or plan administrative expenses.'" (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Guidance Needed for Labor Department's Guidance on Pension Plan Activism
Excerpt: "The guidance largely echoes existing law, and would not affect governance proposals on things like say-on-pay, majority voting or poison pills, all of which the agency said 'are reasonably likely to affect the economic value of the plan.' Where the guidance would come into play is on social or political proposals. According to the guidance, 'the mere fact that plans are shareholders in the corporations in which they invest does not itself provide a rationale for a fiduciary to spend plan assets to pursue, support or oppose such proposals.' The guidance is vague in its wording and has been interpreted differently by groups on both sides." (Financial Week; free registration required)
DOL Says Plan Assets for Retirements, Not Politics
Excerpt: "Pension plan assets must be invested and used solely to provide for the retirements of plan participants, not to advance political, corporate or other goals, according to new bulletins from the Department of Labor." (Pensions & Investments)
EBSA Gives Thumbs Down to SRI Investment Criteria
Excerpt: "Federal regulators reaffirmed their position that the goal of ERISA plans must be to generate maximum returns to meet pension liabilities and not for socially responsive investing purposes. The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) said in a news release that its guidance asserts that plan fiduciaries may never increase expenses, sacrifice investment returns, or reduce the security of plan benefits to promote legislative, regulatory, or public policy goals with no connection to the payment of benefits or plan administrative expenses." (planadvisor)
New Hampshire Judicial Retirement Plan Sues on Divestment Law
Excerpt: "The New Hampshire Judicial Retirement Plan has asked a Superior Court judge to decide the constitutionality of a law ordering it to sell its holdings in selective companies doing business in the Sudan. The law, passed this spring, orders the state's two public pension systems to shed any investments that support Sudan's campaign of genocide and rape in Darfur. Both plans question whether the law is constitutional, but the Judicial Retirement Plan is the first to go to court. The much larger New Hampshire Retirement System would like to join the case." (The Boston Globe)
Pension Fund Activism: The Double-Edged Sword
Excerpt: "Many public pension funds engage in activism by using their pooled ownership of stock to affect changes in the corporations they own. The merits of activism depend on: (1) the conflicts of interest between corporate managers and shareholders, and (2) the conflicts of interest between portfolio managers and investors. These conflicts lead to two types of activism: shareholder activism and social activism. Portfolio managers can use their position to monitor conflicts that might arise between managers and shareholders (shareholder activism), but they can also abuse their position by pursuing actions that advance their own moral values or political interests at the expense of investors (social activism)." (Pension Research Council; registration required to download fulltext of paper)
[Opinion] Are State Officials Risking Public Employee Retirement Benefits by Playing Global Warming Politics?
Excerpt: "We conclude that state and local pension fund administrators who promote or ignore global warming regulation may be contributing to undesirable economic conditions that will adversely impact the portfolios they manage. Moreover, pension administrators who are promoting global warming regulation appear to be doing so for partisan political purposes. This could be considered a breach of their fiduciary responsibility. We recommend that, unless global warming regulation can be justified as a significant benefit to the broad economy and stock market, state and local pension fund administrators actively oppose it." (The National Center for Public Policy Research)
CalSTRS Adds Public Health Criteria to Investment Policy Statement
Excerpt: "The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) has added a new plank to its investment policy calling for a consideration of public health issues when deciding on future investment moves. CalSTRS' Investment Committee unanimously approved the addition of the public health criterion on the motion of State Treasurer Bill Lockyer. A Lockyer news release said the component was added to CalSTRS' Environment, Social and Governance Policy (ESG), which measurers risk and governs decisions related to CalSTRS investments." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Big Funds Eye Reinvesting in Tobacco Firms
Excerpt: "[C]alifornia's public pension fund system is considering reversing its policy of refusing to invest in tobacco companies. The California State Teachers' Retirement System, the nation's third-largest public pension fund with $162 billion in assets, could vote as early as this fall on a plan to start buying tobacco stocks, which it has shunned since 2000." (The New York Sun)
Two Public Pension Funds' Virtuous Mistake: CalPERS and CalSTRS Do-Good Investment Strategy Has Cost California Retirees Billions
Excerpt: "Eight years ago, then-state treasurer Philip Angelides launched his 'Double Bottom Line' initiative, espousing a philosophy of profits and social reform. As part of the plan, the $239 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) dropped investments in countries that lacked a free press, labor unions, and other hallmarks of democracy. CalPERS and the $162 billion California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) also dumped tobacco stocks and plowed money into businesses and real estate that would benefit the local economy." (BusinessWeek)
NH Retirement Systems Must Divest Sudan-Related Holdings
Excerpt: "Under a bill signed into law by New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, the state retirement system board of trustees and the judicial retirement plan board of trustees must divest assets relating to Sudan." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Mercer's HRadio Podcast, July 15, 2008
This week's lineup includes: News highlights; Understanding health care predictive models; Hurdles in the road to global pay; Socially responsible investing goes mainstream. Total time: 15:26 (Mercer LLC)
Social Investing Revisited?
Excerpt: "There appears to be a continuing debate, with the Department of Labor's involvement, between the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce concerning use of plan assets in proxy voting and shareholder related activities as well as in connection with union organizing campaigns and union goals in collective bargaining negotiations." (Pension Protection Act Blog)
Green 401(k) Plans
Excerpt: "Even though socially responsible investing (SRI) has been around for decades, only recently have some companies begun to offer their employees greener options for 401(k) retirement investment accounts. According to Rona Fried of SustainableBusiness.com, SRI options for retirement plans are still only offered to about 20 percent of employees, but that's changing fast." (HealthNewsDigest.com)
ProxyDemocracy Web Site Provides Tools to Help Investors Put Their Voting Power to Use
Excerpt: "ProxyDemocracy provides a set of tools to help investors use their voting power to produce positive changes in the companies they own. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan project supported by foundations that are themselves interested in being responsible investors." (ProxyDemocracy)
Twenty States Have Passed, or Are Considering, Divestment Laws, for Pension Funds
Excerpt: "Divestments will, however, hurt U.S. taxpayers if Iran-tainted stocks are sold at depressed prices. Fund managers at Calstrs predict that its substitute non-Iranian stocks will yield $200 million a year less in returns. This year, from the 20 states enacting legislation, $8 billion in total divestment can be expected with $70 million in transaction costs. Any losses will be borne by taxpayers, who are on the hook for public employee pensions." (Forbes.com)
[Opinion] Tide May Be Turning Against Practice of Divesting Pension Funds from Terrorist States
Excerpt: "These well-intended political initiatives are a festering sore for pension funds. They force public trustees to violate their duty of loyalty and put political interests ahead of the sole interest of their beneficiaries. At minimum, divestment laws impose administrative headaches and financial losses on pension plans -- losses that are not reimbursed by legislatures. At worst, they seriously impair investment returns and impose costs on future generations who will be forced to pick up the tab for investment underperformance." (Governing.com)
CalPERS Toughens Standards on Corporate Governance
Excerpt: "The California Public Employees' Retirement System wants companies in its investment portfolio to be environmentally responsible and to have diverse boards of directors. The investment committee of the world's largest public pension fund voted to affirm those standards during Monday's meeting in Sacramento, adding them to the system's Global Principles of Accountable Corporate Governance." (The Sacramento Bee)
Maine Rejects Bid to Divest Investment
Excerpt: "Bucking a committee recommendation and a vote in the Senate, the Maine House is rejecting a bill calling for a divestiture of pension funds in companies doing business in Iran." (AP via International Business Times)
Proposed - that Two Largest Texas Pension Funds Loan Money for Infrastructure Projects
Excerpt: "Senate Finance Committee chairman Steve Ogden floated the idea of a public-private partnership to invest in roads and other infrastructure in Texas, possibly using state pension fund money. His rationale: if the likes of Spanish company Cintra are willing to pony up billions of dollars (eventually) to build and operate roads in Texas, why not get the state's big pension funds into the deals as lenders or investors?" (The Austin American-Statesman)
State Divestment Legislation
Excerpt: "Growing concern over genocide in Sudan and countries that sponsor terrorism has prompted state legislatures to consider actions to limit or eliminate state investments in firms doing business with such countries. Legislation includes total divestment of the states interests in firms doing business in targeted divestment focused on specific firms and shareholder engagement strategies. The . . . charts summarize enacted legislation from 2005 and 2006 and bills introduced in the 2007 and 2008 legislative sessions." (National Conference of State Legislatures)
Institutional Investors Fuel Surge in Socially Responsible Investing
Excerpt: "The growth in socially conscious investing -- now comprising $1 of every $11 invested -- is being driven both by 'growing institutional investor demand and by a host of factors driving retail investor demand,' said Cheryl Smith, executive vice president at Trillium Asset Management. Institutional investors have acquired the largest slice of the socially screened assets. The $1.9 trillion in institutional assets was up 27% from 2006, when the last bi-annual report was released." (Financial Week; free registration required)
Resources on Mandatory Divestment Issues
The association has published a list of publications, with links to fulltext, on the issue of divestment. (National Association of State Retirement Administrators)
NYC Public Pensions to Companies - Reveal Political Payouts
Excerpt: "Acting on behalf of New York City's Pension Funds, William C. Thompson, Jr., the city's comptroller, is asking ten of America's biggest companies to disclose their political contributions. Thompson submitted the resolution to: Halliburton Corp.; Duke Energy; Charles Schwab Corp.; DTE Energy; Wal-Mart; United Technologies; Devon Energy; Computer Sciences Corp.; Entergy Corp.; and Union Pacific. United Technologies has already has agreed to adopt the proposal." (CFO.com)
[Opinion] Michigan Governor Calls for Pension Plan Investment in State
Excerpt: "For seven straight years, Michigan has lost jobs and currently suffers the nation's highest unemployment rate. So, what do we say about this species of socially responsible investing?" (Cypen and Cypen)
[Opinion] The Socially Responsible Investing Fiduciary Cop-Out, Round 2
Excerpt: "Fiduciary law assesses prudence and loyalty based upon the care, skill, diligence and reasonableness of the manner in which decisions are made, not based upon the outcomes of those decisions. [Environmental, social and governance] factors provide attractive opportunities to enhance investment decision making." (Blaine Aikin of Fiduciary360 published by ProducersWEB)
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