Managers of the Church of England’s £8.3bn investment portfolio have criticised US regulators for planning to deny smaller shareholders, such as the church, the right to challenge US companies over excessive executive pay and the climate crisis. A group of 70 church investors, including the C of E, have written to the US Securities and…
New York State Pension Fund Makes $800 Million Bet on ESG Credit – Bloomberg
The New York State Common Retirement Fund put $800 million in sustainable fixed-income strategies this year, including sustainable private credit and green bonds, a rare big bet on debt in the equity-dominated market for responsible investing. The $210.5 billion public pension fund said it invested $300 million in Avenue Capital’s new Sustainable Solutions Fund, which…
JPMorgan rejects calls to disclose lending’s impact on climate | American Banker
JPMorgan Chase is resisting proposals from activist investors that would require it to take stock of the impact its lending activities are having on climate change. Several members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility want to put several climate-related proposals to a shareholder vote that would, among other things, ask the bank disclose how…
How Calvert’s research produced Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies list
For the third consecutive year, Barron’s asked Calvert to identify companies showing leadership in addressing the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks relevant to their operations. The resulting list of “The 100 Most Sustainable Companies” is available on the Barron’s website, but here’s some information about how we created it. To begin, Calvert analyzed the…
Majority Action Wants Former Exxon CEO Off the Board of JPMorgan
Few people are in a position to influence Jamie Dimon, the chief executive who turned JPMorgan Chase & Co. into the biggest U.S. bank. The longtime climate skeptic who turned Exxon Mobil Corp. into the biggest U.S. oil company is one of them. Lee R. Raymond, 81, holds the top position on JPMorgan’s 11-member board…
Bebchuck Comment on Proxy Advisor Proposal
From Harvard professor Lucian Bebchuck’s comment to the SEC on the proxy advisor proposal: As explained below, the Economic Analysis cannot provide a basis for SEC rulemaking in this area. The Economic Analysis fails in its analysis of both the benefits and the costs of the proposed rule and overlooks significant effects and issues. Below…
Nell Minow on Motley Fool Money: Board Diversity, Dark Money at the SEC, and Oscars
Thanks to Chris Hill for inviting VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow on the always-enlightening Motley Fool Money podcast to talk about what’s going on in corporate governance, including the SEC’s proposed rules and Goldman Sachs’ recent announcement on board diversity.
Comments on the SEC’s Proposed Restrictions on Shareholder Proposals
Excerpts of Investor Comments Opposing SEC Proposals to Restrict Shareholder Rights, compiled by the Investor Rights Forum. In November 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted proposed changes to Rule 14a-8 that would sharply restrict the rights of investors to file shareholder proposals and hold corporate managers accountable on important environmental, social, and governance concerns….
Citizens United 10 Years Later: Ciara Torres-Spelliscy
Professor Ciara Torres-Spelliscy testified about what we have learned about the impact of the Citizens United Decision after ten years. The full testimony, including disturbing information about the vicious cycle caused by more dark money raising the cost of campaigns, thus needing more dark money is below. An excerpt: Nearly a decade ago, I told…
Bart Naylor of Public Citizen: Testimony on Comment Abuse by Astroturf Fake Front Groups
Bart Naylor testified this morning in a hearing on the avuse of the notice and comment process by dark money-tuned fake front groups masquerading as public interest organizations. The full testimony is at the link below. The title of the hearing is “Fake It Till They Make It: How Bad Actors Use Astroturfing to Manipulate…
