RI has partnered with the Committee on Workers Capital (CWC) to publish a series of CWC Trustee Profile interviews with union-nominated pension fund trustees that touch on the role of individual board members in driving innovation around responsible investment at their funds. This installment is with Sharon Hendricks, Vice-Chair of the CalSTRS Board of Trustees.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Aug. 4, 2017) – CalSTRS Director of Corporate Governance Anne Sheehan issued the following statement in response to S&P Dow Jones Indices decision this week to not include companies with multi-class shares in the S&P Composite 1500®.
“We are very pleased by S&P’s decision because it reflects the view of investors that dual and multi-class share structures eliminate a core corporate governance principle—one share, one vote.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif., (Aug. 3, 2017) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System’s Deputy Chief Investment Officer Michelle Cunningham announced her retirement from an investment career spanning 35 years—27 of which have been with CalSTRS.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – July 20, 2017 – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System announced today that the fund posted a 13.4 percent net of fees return for the 2016-17 fiscal year, with growth being driven by strong performance across all markets, led by non-U.S. equity. As of June 30, 2017, the total fund value was $208.7 billion.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – July 17, 2017 – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System has, for the fifth consecutive year, contributed one of its talented young—under age 40—investment officers, Orintheo Swanigan, to Chief Investment Officer magazine’s Class of 2017 Top Forty Under Forty.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – July 13, 2017 – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System today announced the appointment of Diane Stanton as External Affairs Director. In her new role, Ms. Stanton will provide leadership, management and strategic direction for the CalSTRS External Affairs program, with an emphasis on stakeholder relations, outreach and engagement. Her position reports directly to Public Affairs Executive Officer, Grant Boyken.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System’s Director of Corporate Governance Anne Sheehan was elected Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee today.
Ms. Sheehan was appointed as a member of the IAC when it was created in 2012, followed by her election as vice chairman in June 2015. Since April 2017, after Kurt Schacht left the committee, Ms. Sheehan has been acting chairman. In addition, Ms. Sheehan served as Chairman of the Investor as Owner Subcommittee from 2012 to 2014.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – CalSTRS Chief Executive Officer Jack Ehnes issued the following statement reflecting the Teachers’ Retirement Board’s decision to oppose H.R. 10 (Hensarling, R-TX), also known as the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017:
“The Financial CHOICE Act is shrouded in rhetoric about fixing the United States economy and lifting the regulatory burden on our financial institutions. On the contrary, this bill actually aims to unwind important shareholder rights, allows for riskier public companies, and decimates the Securities and Exchange Commission’s ability to protect investors.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Teachers’ Retirement Board today announced the decision to divest the fund of all non-U.S. thermal coal holdings, effective July 1, 2017.
The board’s action aligns with CalSTRS’ long-term global perspective and its fiduciary duty, including consideration of environmental risks – both current and those projected over the next 10 to 25+ years. Burning thermal coal as a means of energy production creates such a risk, as a major contributor of greenhouse gases that negatively impact the climate on a global scale.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The California State Teachers’ Retirement System was among the Netflix investors who spoke out today following the entertainment company’s annual meeting, at which shareholders again backed multiple proposals to reform the company’s corporate governance practices.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – CalSTRS Chief Executive Officer Jack Ehnes issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Change Agreement:
“For CalSTRS, our primary mission is to maximize returns for the fund in order to safeguard the retirement security for more than 914,000 California educators and their beneficiaries. Over ten years ago, we recognized that climate change presented investment opportunities and risks to the fund and we implemented strategies to address them.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System today released Global Stewardship at Work, its 2015—16 sustainability report. This is the third year the system published the report, which is based on the Global Reporting Initiative G4 Guidelines.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – CalSTRS voted its 11.6 million shares against long-tenured board members John D. Baker II, John S. Chen, Lloyd H. Dean, Enrique Hernandez, Jr., Donald M. James, Cynthia H. Milligan, Federico F. Peña, Stephen W. Sanger, and Susan G. Swenson. These board members failed in their duty to shareholders to identify the weaknesses in the company’s risk and oversight mechanisms.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System today announced that Governor Brown has appointed Karen Yamamoto to the California State Teachers’ Retirement Board. The board oversees the retirement benefits for California’s prekindergarten–12 and community college educators covered under the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS).
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The trustees of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System today elected Dana Dillon as board chair and Sharon Hendricks as vice chair for the 2017-18 term.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Teachers’ Retirement Board today adopted the actuarial valuation for the CalSTRS Defined Benefit Program as of June 30, 2016, reflecting impacts from assumption changes while also illustrating continued progress toward the system’s long-term funding goals.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System today released its 2016 Corporate Governance Annual Report. The report highlights the Corporate Governance staff efforts in, among other issues, regulatory activities, proxy voting and portfolio company engagement.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System today praised Banc of California’s announcement that it has added Mary Allis Curran and Dr. Bonnie Guiton Hill to its board of directors. CalSTRS worked together with investment partners Legion Partners Asset Management, LLC and Banc of California to identify the best board candidates.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System today announced its first social bond purchase, worth $5 million. Bond proceeds will go toward financing women-owned enterprises and projects for low-income communities in emerging markets, while providing competitive returns to the teachers’ fund.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System today announced a comprehensive redesign of 403bCompare.com, a free online resource providing tools for visitors to compare hundreds of supplemental savings products available through their employer. The site is available to all certificated and classified employees of California public school and community college districts, county offices of education and charter schools.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System is celebrating the appointment of its Chief Operating Investment Officer, Debra Smith, to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Standing Advisory Group. Ms. Smith will represent the investors’ perspective and voice in the advisory group. Her three-year term runs through the end of 2019.
