Re: wall street journal article

[Mbindnerdc@aol.com]

These look like public pension funds and how they are invested.  It seems like 
the impact of this bit of grand standing is to shield public pension funds from 
companies with ESOPs (which on the whole are better performing) and will have 
about the same impact as divesting pension funds from South Africa in the 80s.

In a message dated Wed, 16 Jan 2002  6:50:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, "Joseph 
Doggett" <joseph.doggett@worldnet.att.net> writes:

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>             <SPAN id=DATE>The article I referenced 
>             earlier is partially printed below.</SPAN>
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>             <SPAN>January 16, 2002</SPAN> <!-- summaries begin --><!-- 
>article start -->
>             Two Large Pension Funds May Adopt
> Tougher 
>             Corporate-Governance Policies<!--     SPLIT HEADER     -->
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> By MITCHEL BENSON 
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> Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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> SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Two of the nation's largest pension funds 
>             could adopt tougher corporate-governance policies to protect 
>company 
>             employees and their retirement plans from future debacles such as 
>             Enron's, under changes proposed Tuesday by state Controller 
>Kathleen 
>             Connell.
>             
> Ms. Connell made her proposal Tuesday in letters to the lead 
>             counsels of the California Public Employees Retirement and 
>             California State Teachers Retirement funds. Ms. Connell is a 
>member 
>             of each of the funds' governing boards. Calpers is the nation's 
>             largest pension fund, and the teacher's fund is the nation's 
>             third-largest.
>             
> Calpers spokeswoman Patricia Macht says the board "is obviously 
>             concerned about this issue," and that Ms. Connell's 
>recommendations 
>             "will be taken under advisement and will be discussed when the 
>full 
>             board meets next on this issue."
>             
> In her letter to pension fund officials, Ms. Connell recommended 
>             four specific changes to each fund's corporate-governance policy. 
>As 
>             proposed, they would apply to any publicly traded company in 
>which 
>             Calpers or the teachers fund "holds a significant equity stake," 
>and 
>             require those companies to "adhere to higher standards of 
>protection 
>             for employees' defined contribution plans." Ms. Connell didn't 
>             quantify what would constitute a "significant" equity stake. The 
>             changes are:
>             
>               Employees would not be required to invest in their company's 
>               defined contribution retirement savings program. 
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>               For those employees who choose to do so, and where the company 
>               matches a percentage of employee contributions, the employees 
>               would have the option to receive the match in a form other than 
>               the company's stock. 
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>               Again, for employees who choose to participate in their 
>               company's defined contribution retirement savings program, no 
>more 
>               than 10% of the employee's savings may be invested in the 
>               company's stock. 
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>               Within the bounds of federal rules and regulations, employees 
>               who choose to invest in company stock through a defined 
>               contribution program will always have the ability to liquidate 
>               that stock. 
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