Newsletter

ESG / Sustainability

Social Investment Forum: Nearly All U.S. Investment Consultants Surveyed Agree Responsible/ESG Investing is Here to Stay
(source: PR NewsWire) U.S. investment consultants believe that the growing interest of their clients in environmental, social and governance (ESG)/responsible investing issues is not going to be a short-lived phenomenon: Nearly nine out of 10 (88 percent) believe that client interest in ESG will continue to grow over the next three years, and none believe it will decrease, according to a new survey conducted by the Social Investment Forum and Pensions & Investments.

Responsible investing can boost returns
(source: Asian Investor) Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors can have a positive impact on portfolio returns, according to a growing body of academic research.

Sovereign Wealth Funds

Asian sovereign funds are biggest SWF spenders in 2009
(source: Finance Asia) Asian SWFs have overtaken Middle East government investment arms as the largest acquirers of assets this year, and the biggest increase in spending is in the natural resources sector. 

Dubai—A Lesson In Why Transparency Matters
(source: Wall Street Journal) Dubai's troubles offer a warning of the perils of investing in places where leaders--whether of governments or companies--have limited accountability.

Sovereign wealth fund managers fear threat of inflation with economic recovery
(source: China Daily)  Sovereign wealth fund managers are concerned about inflation caused by massive stimulus packages in the West and are investing more in property and commodities to hedge against that risk, Franklin Templeton executives said recently.

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Pay-to-Play Probe Turns to Venture Capitalist
(source: Wall Street Journal)  The New York attorney general's pay-to-play investigation is focusing on a California venture capitalist who may have funneled money to people involved with the New York state pension fund while he was soliciting investments from the fund, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Calpers board member settles contribution dispute
(source: Reuters)  A board member of Calpers, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, has agreed to pay $12,500 to settle a campaign contribution dispute related to placement agents, an official with California's political watchdog agency said on Monday.

Watching the Watchers

New York State Common Retirement Fund
Location: Albany, New York
Established: 1967, during Administration of Governor Nelson Rockefeller
Estimated asset base:  USD$154 billion (as of December 2008)

Overview / Mission
The New York State Common Retirement Fund (CRF) holds assets for over one million members participating in two retirement systems: the Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS) and the New York State Employees’ Retirement System (ERS). CRF’s 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report noted that, together, the two systems -- known collectively as the New York State and Local Retirement System -- are the second largest in the United States in terms of participants (behind California, the largest) and the third largest in terms of total asset value.

Plan net assets decreased slightly during fiscal year 2007-2008, from USD $156.6 billion on March 31, 2007, to USD $155.8 billion on March 31, 2008. The CRF was valued (with audited results) at USD $153.9 billion in a press release dated January 27, 2009.   The Fund is estimated to be down by 20% since then (as of March 2009).

Governance & Accountability Institute is a monitoring, intelligence-gathering and knowledge management center operating at the intersections of powerful forces reshaping relationship between stockholders and stakeholders, and the public corporation. For more information, contact us at 516.248.2383 or info@ga-institute.com.