Settlement with Broadridge reached to include the language below in their proxy. I then withdrew my proposal, and they withdrew their no-action request. (SEC file) After considering issuer practices during virtual shareholder meetings and to respect the voice of our shareholders, during our annual meeting we will pause to allow time for stockholders to ask […]
Fair and Balanced was the motto of Fox News. In 2017 they moved to a slightly more accurate “Most Watched, Most Trusted.” Most boards of directors, especially pension funds, like CalPERS, with a fiduciary duty to members that elect some directors and influence the election of others, want to at least appear fair and balanced […]
CalPERS Petition for RCV posted here will be taken up by the Finance & Administration Committee as agenda item 5e. Much of that item concerns the delivery of ballots (mail, phone, internet). My concern is primarily with the desirability of moving to ranked choice voting (RCV). The meeting agenda includes our draft petition of 9/21/2022 but not […]
Testimony to CalPERS 3/13/2023, Investment Committee Item 6b, by Jim McRitchie, a retired member. Note: Actual testimony was limited to 3-4 minutes. This version is slightly longer and includes links. (more…)
Ownership: Reinventing companies, Capitalism, and Who Owns What by Corey Rosen and John Case should be read by every director on the board of public pension funds. I (James McRitchie) am planning to send a copy to all the board members of CalPERS once newly elected members take office next year. In celebration of […]
CalPERS Should Adopt IRV for Board Elections. That is the argument Randy Cheek and James McRitchie made in a draft rulemaking petition to the Board in a 9:24 AM email to board@calpers.ca.gov on 9/21/2022 under Government Code section 11340.6. As of the date of this post, the Board has yet to even acknowledge receipt. That feels […]
CalPERS investments underperform. CalPERS underperformed for a decade, investment chief says in pitch for more risk. The country’s largest public pension system earned an average of 7.7% per year on its investments over the last 10 years. That’s 1.2% less than a hypothetical peer should have expected to earn in the same time period. To remedy the […]
Musings Missed Musings; not all of mine got mentioned at the Forum. I had the distinct pleasure of being a panelist at the Public Funds Forum 2022 with Maine’s Treasurer Henry Beck and David Wescoe, Executive Director of the Texas Municipal Retirement System. Our topic was Best Practices in Fund Governance. I thought of several […]
Saving American Democracy in the Age of Citizens United, that’s the subtitle of a new book by Robert A.G. Monks entitled The Emperor’s Nightmare. The subtitle speaks to the book’s forward thrust. The title puts that in the context of a long journey in corporate governance by Monks. The cover of Power and Accountability in 1991 […]
2U 2022 annual meeting is on June 8, 2022, at noon Pacific. It is a virtual-only meeting on the Broadridge platform. Of course, I recommend voting in advance, especially since many companies cut off voting as soon as proposals have been presented. To enhance corporate governance and long-term value, vote Against Coretha Rushing and Pay. Vote FOR […]
IQVIA Holdings 2022 made the list. Our company is near the top for ‘overpaid’ healthcare CEOs, number 20 of the 100 most overpaid CEOs. IQVIA Holdings 2022 annual meeting is April 12, 2022, at 9:00 am EDT at the Hilton Garden Inn Danbury, 119 Mill Plain Road, Danbury, Connecticut. Although IQVA is a healthcare company and we […]
David Webber: Guest Speaker on Corporate Accountability Forums April 4, 10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern – Register David Webber Yesterday, David Webber discussed his comment letter on proposed DOL regulations, which failed to consider the jobs of the very workers who contribute to funds regulated by the Department, harming both the workers and the funds […]
Employee ownership is my next focus. Support for proposals in 2020 and 2021 to encourage companies to add workers to the board has been weak. It is time to reassess. My conversations with CalPERS were especially interesting. Directors I interviewed who were elected by the members favored our proposals. Staff, those charged with voting shares […]
Sharing Profits is Not Enough Professor Reich but you are getting warmer. Your hook was that Sears workers owned 25%. Then you imagine what that magnitude of ownership could mean at Amazon. The spoiler was you then began touting cash bonuses, rather than stocks. True, having ALL retirement tied to one stock is risky. That […]
Spring 2021 CorpGov.net Proxy Proposal results are in, as reported below. New SEC rules will delay needed ESG reforms, so we worked in cooperation with more groups and filed more proposals than ever. We still averaged more than a 50% vote in favor. (more…)
SHARE Summit 2021 was a virtual event this year. I missed the sidebar conversations so important at most conferences. Additionally, since I was home and had plenty of work to do, I attended fewer sessions than I would have in Vancouver. Still, even when virtual, this annual conference is among the best. I cannot think […]
CalPERS Votes Against Pay at More Companies Than Ever CalPERS votes against pay at 53% of companies during 2019 proxy season, truly setting an example with regard to stewardship around executive pay. That is up from 43% last year. I would be interested in an update of last year’s graphic (S&P 500 only, as above) […]
Climate Action 100+ calls for trade association accountability on climate change. 200 institutional investors with a combined $6.5 trillion in assets-under-management are calling on 47 of the largest US publicly traded corporations to align their climate lobbying with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Lobbying activities that are inconsistent with meeting climate goals are an investment […]
SSgA critical of GHG short-term perspective offered up by oil and gas, mining and utility disclosures on addressing greenhouse gas emissions. If we are to maintain a salubrious environment, much of the coal and oil will turn out to be stranded assets. Given that reality, I reallocated most positions I had in this sector to […]
2019 CalPERS CalSTRS Diversity Forum lived up to its billing as a unique opportunity to engage with industry leaders and experts on diversity and inclusion topics such as: The “Why” and “How” of driving diversity and inclusion Building and sustaining a positive corporate culture Human Capital Management metrics and their value to investors In the following […]
Governance Fundamentals: Understanding Your Company’s Mechanics and Benchmarking. That was the title of the final spring 2019 SVDX/Rock Center program at Stanford Law on April 18. My cryptic notes below. (more…)
Listing standards change sought by the Council of Institutional Investors (CII). CII filed petitions with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ, asking both to limit listings of companies with dual-class share structures. They have taken the right approach to address a growing problem. I hope it ends a worldwide race to the […]
CSR investments may someday drive investments at CalPERS. That possibility is many years off but may a get start at the California State Retirees (CSR) Delegate Assembly, held October 22-23 in Sacramento. CSR is smaller than many of the unions representing currently employed public employees in California but our members vote. (more…)
SB 826 requires specified California-based public corporations to include women directors on their board. Sidley Austin LLP put out a bulletin on the topic. To ensure it receives widespread circulation, I am reproducing its main text below, with one minor change to break up an absurdly long sentence. (more…)
The reputations of Marcie Frost and CalPERS are under a cloud, given the circumstances of her hiring, alleged evidence and news reports. See (more…)
“Impact investing” – financial investments designed to generate a measurable, positive impact on society, while also providing potential returns – is growing in popularity, according to new research conducted by American Century Investments. The “appeal” of impact investing reached 49% among 2018 survey participants, compared to 38% in 2016. At 56%, Millennials find impact investing […]
Keep CalPERS healthy; vote for Flaherman and Brown. Ballots have been mailed out to more than 1.5 million CalPERS members. They must be received by October 2nd to count. This is probably the most important election the $333B+ System has ever held, given how the board isolated and ostracized current director J. J. Jelincic for […]
CalPERS muzzles critics. The following editorial appeared in the Sacramento Bee on May 25, 1999. The editorial references a “technical violation of board rules” by then Chairman William Crist. Actually, it was a clear violation of the rules, which prohibited changes to candidate statement after submission. No candidate in the history of CalPERS had ever […]
CalPERS and CalSTRS sponsored the California Diversity Forum in Sacramento (“America’s Most Diverse City”) on Wednesday, May 12, 2017, bringing together investment and corporate executives to discuss how to better capitalize on the abilities of the diverse modern workforce. Diversity is both morally right and profitable. Narrowing the global gender gap would add $12 trillion in […]
CalPERS and CalSTRS sponsored a diversity forum in Sacramento on Wednesday, May 12, 2017. The goal of the Diversity Forum was to bring together investment and corporate executives to discuss how to better capitalize on the abilities of the diverse modern workforce. While I think diversity should be adopted simply because it is morally right, […]
Even in Washington, the numbers are impressive. The Council of Institutional Investors, who met in Washington DC this week, represents 23 trillion (with a t) dollars, mostly made up of retirement and other savings of working families. Compare that to the entire budget of the US government, less than two trillion a year. Like most […]
Large institutional investors, concerned about portfolio risks stemming from the effects of global warming, are calling for climate-competent boards and directors as part of their fiduciary responsibility to preserve and enhance the long-term value of their investment assets. Despite the anticipated rollback of climate related governmental policies such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power […]
3D Moves to Equilar. The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) today announced the Diverse Director DataSource (3D) will now be available through the Equilar Diversity Network. The new partnership marks an exciting milestone for the 3D, a database the two pension funds jointly developed in 2011. 3D […]
Tobacco Investments Update Apparently, CalPERS sent invitations out on 9/27, 10/6 and 10/13 to about 400 people. Although I am on mailing lists for press and rulemaking, I wasn’t on the “stakeholders” mailing list. That has now been corrected going forward. The webinar was brief. CalPERS Chief Operating Officer Wylie Tollette reviewed CalPERS’ prior tobacco divestment actions, […]
Full-time fiduciary counsel sought by CalPERS to provide specialized fiduciary advice to the system’s board and staff. CalPERS announce that former(?)/current(?) fiduciary counsel Robert Klausner can bid for the same contract he’s being pushed out of… where he quoted the lowest price per hour of the finalists. According to Pensions&Investments (CalPERS issues call for fiduciary counsel), (more…)