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Governance
Mercer quizzes fund managers over controversial tar sands BP/Shell AGM resolutions
Consultant asks managers to indicate which way they will vote and why.
March 2010
Swedish govt fund vows to vote down short-term excessive bonuses
Board pressure to be applied on sustainability and female representation.
March 2010
EIRIS launches ESG proxy voting service
March 2010
Former New York pensions CIO pleads guilty to fund asset corruption
Decisions were driven by politics and greed, says NY state Attorney General.
March 2010
UK MPs call for Parliament pension fund to back investor tar sands campaign
Call for Parliament fund to get active with its share voting rights.
March 2010
US pension fund adds to exec comp lawsuits against Goldman Sachs
Lawsuit alleges corporate waste over Goldman compensation pool.
March 2010
Norwegian Global Fund hires specialist water manager
Water Asset Management picks up undisclosed sum for investment brief.
March 2010
Giant Norway fund relaxes controversial exclusion policy
Norges Bank to favour initial lobbying engagement where possible.
March 2010
UK trades unions and NGOs unite for pension fund e-mail campaign over BP/Shell tar sands
Website lists pension funds and managers with shares in oil giants.
February 2010
Shell freezes exec salaries and includes sustainability performance after shareholder pressure
Oil giant cites ‘open and constructive’ shareholder dialogue
February 2010
UNPRI coalition targets 86 major companies on Global Compact failure
Group targets reporting “laggards” that risk ejection.
February 2010
Myners plans ‘long-only, long-term’ investor governance activist lobby group
NAPF launches governance guidelines in response to governance debate
February 2010
Church of England funds sell millions in Vedanta shares boycott
Blacklisting follows failed engagement on human rights concerns.
February 2010
TIAA-CREF calls for proactive institutional investors to prevent market crises
Policy paper looks at lessons learned from financial crises.
February 2010
Institutional investors input to new India governance recommendations
White paper on shareholder rights and audit issued by Asian Corporate Governance Association
January 2010
Norwegian fund sells off euro1.8bn in tobacco shares after government ban
Ministry of finance approves tobacco manufacturer exclusion.
January 2010
UK investor Stewardship Code consultation kicks off, backs long-term mandate review
Financial Reporting Council sounds out investors on long-term performance for ‘market stability’
January 2010
Institutional shareholders to quiz Shell board over Canadian oil sands at AGM
FairPensions co-ordinates resolution for May 18 shareholder meet.
January 2010
Gore and Soros lead post Copenhagen investor gathering
UN hosts discussion on investments needed to solve climate change.
January 2010
CalSTRS to push money managers on integrating climate risk into investment and voting
Report by Ceres says 71% of fund managers ignore potential climate risks.
January 2010
Hewitt Associates settles in valuation lawsuit brought by Philips UK pension fund
Case illustrative of trend for funds to sue advisors over valuations.
January 2010
TIAA-CREF sells PetroChina and Sudan-linked companies in Darfur protest
US pension fund furthers dialogue with Malaysia’s Petronas.
January 2010
Pension funds plan UK High Court ‘class-action’ style test suit against RBS
North Yorkshire and Merseyside wait for legal advice on lawsuit.
December 2009
Fund manager to €280bn Norway scheme in major governance hires
Norges Bank Investment Management recruits head of core corporate governance and related analysts.
December 2009
Dutch corporate funds progress on ESG but fall short of parents’ CSR policies: report
Benchmark compares company funds with industry-wide and public schemes.
December 2009
US investors welcome Goldman Sachs’ ‘tipping point’ on say-on-pay
Top 30 Goldman directors to take bonuses in shares and be subject to claw-back.
December 2009
Norway’s €1.9bn Nestlé stake under scrutiny
September 2009
CalPERS’ $3.8bn governance program “underperforming”
September 2009
ESG improvements, but ‘striking’ disparity between best and worst UK managers: FairPensions
Environmental and social take up lags major governance improvements.
November 2008
Exclusions, engagements and tax evasions top Norwegian Govt fund review
Ministry of Finance formally launches consultation and outlines debate for future responsible investment strategy.
June 2008
Total hit as investors pull millions over Burma links
Human rights campaigners list other companies with business in the military-led country.
October 2007
$100bn investor coalition fights SEC on shareholder resolutions
Group aims to galvanise 500 institutional investors and thousands of retail investors and flood the SEC with e-mails
September 2007
Hermes fund chief Anson quits
Former CalPERS CIO returns to the US after 18 months at UK activist manager
July 2007
CalPERS calls for support on US director nominations
US superfund has Hewlett-Packard and UnitedHealth Group in its sights
July 2007
Corporate governance agencies: the need for transparent voting decisions
Shouldn’t proxy voting groups be held to the same accountability as the corporates they challenge?
February 2010
Could the wisdom of crowds help investor and regulator madness on governance and ownership?
An anonymous survey of investor concerns might be the basis for neutral dialogue to prevent future systemic crises.
December 2009
What hope for better investor ‘stewardship’ in Asia?
Why the ability of management to articulate their approach to governance and the environment is very revealing.
December 2009
ERAFP chief talks about the growth of France’s €6.5bn 100% SRI pension fund
Asset diversification and more corporate activism top the to-do list of ERAFP managing director, Philippe Desfossés
September 2009
Canadian investors rise to RI challenge despite legal limbo
Support for ESG considerations high, but caution on fiduciary responsibilities.
July 2009
Bringing human rights into pension finance. Interview with Gro Nystuen, Norway Govt Pension Fund
The chair of the Council of Ethics talks about exclusions, international norms and why Norway’s fund giant has become an ethical pensions leader.
April 2009
Rachel Kyte, IFC: P8, Who cares wins and green investing in developing countries
IFC leads call for investor action to spur on Copenhagen agreement this year.
February 2009
Why the fund management ownership model has failed
If pension funds want good governance they will have to invest in it.
February 2009
Crisis to opportunity: policy suggestions for the inauguration of the Obama administration
Stronger governance, investor rights and a green-based economic revival.
January 2009
Could institutional investors have prevented the credit crisis?
Did a failure of active ownership contribute and if so, how can it be remedied?
December 2008
Ethos’ six-month campaign: a new tactic in European say-on-pay
Swiss investors adopt US-style publicity strategy to shame companies into action.
December 2008
France’s FRR: blue skies thinking on engagement and ESG manager selection
Reserve fund breaks the mould with planned corporate engagements and forthcoming ESG advisory hire.
October 2008
Mn Services: The former Dutch politician now engaging with Wal-Mart
RI talks to Kris Douma, who leads the governance of 2000 companies worldwide for Mn Services, the Dutch pension fund manager.
August 2008
UN PRI Seoul special: interview with Donald Macdonald, PRI chair
PRI signatories gather in Seoul for the annual progress meeting of the huge investor initiative.
June 2008
Investor appeal for ‘packaged’ sustainability products: TBLI Asia report
Investors, entrepreneurs and NGOs converge on Bangkok for TBLI Asia 2008.
June 2008
Asia’s state pension funds: en route to better governance
Funds in China, Korea and Thailand break ground on voting and corporate accountability, but there are still areas to develop.
May 2008
Exxon and HSBC: hollow victories on pay and governance
Why important AGMs this week at ExxonMobil and HSBC will end up asking more questions than answers.
May 2008
The importance of responsible investment: Views from the New Zealand Superannuation Fund
How New Zealand runs its NZ$13.5 bn (€6.8bn) national pension fund to protect the country’s reputation.
May 2008
Dutch transport funds lay SRI tracks
SPF Beheer outlines move from best-in-class to engagement.
May 2008
Why sovereign wealth funds have provoked schizophrenia in western markets
Market saviours or dangerous political investors? Sovereign wealth funds have got governments in a funk.
April 2008
US Special: Investors rally on say-on-pay and sub-prime votes
Compensation concerns in focus as US meeting season looms.
February 2008
Metallrente shows the way on RI in Germany
Country’s fastest growing fund explains why RI is a gradual but growing process amongst German peers.
January 2008
How a TV documentary on cluster bombs became an ESG benchmark
New ranking compares Dutch pension funds on pollution and human rights issues.
January 2008
Environment Agency plans sequel to £1.5bn SRI success
Fund investment committee to consider sweating the assets to take advantage of strong performance at lower risk.
November 2007
Responsible pensions in BP pipeline
Sally Bridgeland, CEO of BT pension trustees explains how the oil and gas company is exploring SRI within the scheme.
November 2007
The lobby group fighting to make pensions fair
Alex van der Velden, executive director of FairPensions talks disinvestment, defined contribution, and benchmarking pension funds and asset managers for sustainability.
November 2007
Sweden’s AP funds’ ethical umbrella
Council gives Swedish state funds responsible investment muscle.
October 2007
ABP’s total responsible investment strategy
Rob Lake, senior portfolio manager for environmental, social and governance at ABP, the €221bn ($311bn) pension fund for Dutch civil servants, talks clean tech, engagement and cluster bombs.
October 2007
The Janus-faced foreign investors in China
Greenpeace says investors in China must act responsibly before we all pay the price.
September 2007
Why being responsible does not mean underperforming in SE Asia
Investment opportunities are ripe, but it pays to know the CSR terrain.
September 2007
NYCERS: walkin’ the activist walk
Michael Musuraca explains how the New York City Employees fund got active.
September 2007
Good credit after bad
The subprime crisis shows the value of extra financial research.
September 2007
USS shows enterprise in engagement
David Russell, co-head of Responsible Investment at the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the £31bn (€46bn) second largest UK pension fund, explains how its SRI strategy is not just about risk but also reward.
September 2007
Can ‘Made in China’ be responsible?
Theme of the month: Why investors must help clean up South East Asia’s companies.
September 2007
The RI interview: Bob Monks
One of the world’s most prominent corporate governance activists since the 1970s, Bob Monks talks about engagement, hedge fund activists, private equity and why ‘discouraged’ is not part of his vocabulary.
July 2007