Posts Tagged ‘tobacco’
CalPERS Votes to Expand Divestment from Tobacco
UPDATE, 12/19: Success! On a motion by State Controller Betty Yee with a second by Priya Mathur, the CalPERS Investment Committee voted 9–3 to expand divestment from tobacco. CalPERS will continue the current tobacco divestment, and it has directed staff to expand the divestment to externally managed funds and to the Affiliate Fund portfolios. The…
Read moreTell CalPERS: No reinvestment in tobacco!
Staff of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension fund in the country, is recommending that the fund’s Board vote in December to reinvest in tobacco, based on profits the tobacco companies have made overseas since CalPERS divested 16 years ago. Q. Why is the tobacco decision important for fossil fuel…
Read moreCalPERS buys more time to "study" tobacco reinvestment — and its commitment to social responsibility
On a tie vote at their May meeting, the CalPERS Board of Administration rejected Treasurer John Chiang’s motion to declare once and for all that the fund will remain divested from tobacco. Board President Rob Feckner, who voted for the same motion at the April meeting, switched sides and opposed it. CalPERS’ apparent willingness to consider…
Read moreCalPERS' tobacco debate crystallizes sustainable investment dilemma
Following three months of troubled debate, the CalPERS Board of Administration (acting as the fund’s Investment Committee), will decide at its May 16 meeting whether to put to bed the possibility of reinvesting in tobacco after 16 years of divestment. In spite of restrictions on advertising and a decline in smoking in the U.S., the big tobacco firms’ international…
Read moreTobacco is a bad investment, CalPERS!
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System is considering a staff proposal this month that could lead to reinvestment in tobacco companies. It would also effectively foreclose divestment from companies that produce fossil fuels and other deadly products. If enacted, the proposal would “forbid CalPERS, in the management of its portfolios, from sacrificing potential investment performance or…
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