“Fair is Foul, and Foul is Fair”

In this press release issued last week, CalPERS congratulated itself on the “success” of its proxy voting initiatives:

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) made significant progress during the 2015 proxy season, where it voted to improve the rights of shareholders to nominate corporate directors – commonly referred to as proxy access – as well as the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies of companies in which the Fund invests.  “We’re pleased that many companies’ policies are evolving thanks to the outcome of our votes,” said Ted Eliopoulos, Chief Investment Officer for CalPERS. “Important changes in board leadership and environmental strategies will help strengthen these corporations and, in turn, CalPERS’ investments.”

Not surprisingly, CalPERS’ press release made no mention of a recent study issued by Proxy Monitor that found:

Indeed, the evidence does not support the public pension funds’ claims that their shareholder-proposal activism enhances share value: the Fortune 250 companies targeted by shareholder proposals sponsored by the five largest state and municipal pension funds saw their share price, in the subsequent year, underperform the broader S&P 500 index (by 0.9 percent), with broad variations.

(footnote omitted).