ESG
Business & Economics
New Study Finds ESG Funds Underperform Broader Investment Funds Over Long-Term
ESG funds that champion environmental and social causes have historically underperformed funds investing in the broader market over the long-term, so finds a new study released today by California-based, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. “In recent years, ESG funds have been presented to investors as socially responsible as ...
Blog
What We’re Watching – How Entrepreneurship Can Alleviate Poverty in Africa
Ben Smithwick – How Entrepreneurship Can Alleviate Poverty in Africa Magatte Wade is one of the most prominent female African entrepreneurs. In this TED Talk, Wade discusses the challenges of doing business in her native Senegal and shares her vision for how entrepreneurship can help alleviate poverty in Africa. Tim ...
Business & Economics
Watch Wayne Winegarden Speak on Proxy Advisory Firms & ESG Investing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=L-va5HLzTcs Watch PRI Senior Fellow in Business and Economics Wayne Winegarden speak at a forum in Washington, DC hosted by the Institute for Pension Fund Integrity on public pensions, proxy advisory firms, and ESG investing. Also speaking at the forum, which was moderated by Christopher Burnham, President, Institute for Pension ...
Business & Economics
Public Pension Funds’ Sole Responsibility Is To Secure The Retirement Of Public Sector Workers
State and local public pension funds are trillions of dollars in debt. Without fully accounting for the risks, state public pension funds have $1.4 trillion in unfunded liabilities (e.g. debt) according to the Pew Center’s latest estimates. Even more troubling, this debt is still growing. The sole priority of a public pension ...
Blog
Proxy Advisory Firms Are Worsening CalPERS and CalSTRS ESG Problem
My last blog post discussed the risks that ESG investing creates for CalPERS and CalSTRS. If not addressed, then both taxpayers and public employees will bear unnecessary costs and risks. Unfortunately, SEC rules are making this problem even worse. The SEC requires all institutional investors, such as CalPERS and CalSTRS, ...
Blog
The ESG Threat to California’s Pensions
California’s public pensions are in trouble. While the Pew Charitable Trusts reports that California’s current unfunded liabilities are nearly $170 billion, as I recently reported in my chartbook on California’s pension crisis, the crisis is much worse. Valuing the liabilities using a more realistic market rate, the total pension debt ...
Business & Economics
The Law of Unintended Consequences: The Case of Proxy Advisory Firms
The SEC requires all institutional investors to vote on all matters put forth in proxy statements, or the measures voted on during shareholder meetings. For most institutional investors, keeping up with all of these issues is not feasible, so they turn to proxy advisory firms. Proxy advisory firms help institutional ...
Blog
PRI Calls for Reform to Disclose Proxy Advisory Firm Biases in Activist Investment Push
Argues That SEC Should Ensure Shareholder Interests Are Top Priority in Investment Decisions SAN FRANCISCO – Policy reforms should be enacted to ensure that proxy advisory firms promote fund managers’ fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders and increase transparency over the firms’ biases and conflicts of interest, the Pacific Research Institute argued ...
New Study Finds ESG Funds Underperform Broader Investment Funds Over Long-Term
ESG funds that champion environmental and social causes have historically underperformed funds investing in the broader market over the long-term, so finds a new study released today by California-based, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. “In recent years, ESG funds have been presented to investors as socially responsible as ...
What We’re Watching – How Entrepreneurship Can Alleviate Poverty in Africa
Ben Smithwick – How Entrepreneurship Can Alleviate Poverty in Africa Magatte Wade is one of the most prominent female African entrepreneurs. In this TED Talk, Wade discusses the challenges of doing business in her native Senegal and shares her vision for how entrepreneurship can help alleviate poverty in Africa. Tim ...
Watch Wayne Winegarden Speak on Proxy Advisory Firms & ESG Investing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=L-va5HLzTcs Watch PRI Senior Fellow in Business and Economics Wayne Winegarden speak at a forum in Washington, DC hosted by the Institute for Pension Fund Integrity on public pensions, proxy advisory firms, and ESG investing. Also speaking at the forum, which was moderated by Christopher Burnham, President, Institute for Pension ...
Public Pension Funds’ Sole Responsibility Is To Secure The Retirement Of Public Sector Workers
State and local public pension funds are trillions of dollars in debt. Without fully accounting for the risks, state public pension funds have $1.4 trillion in unfunded liabilities (e.g. debt) according to the Pew Center’s latest estimates. Even more troubling, this debt is still growing. The sole priority of a public pension ...
Proxy Advisory Firms Are Worsening CalPERS and CalSTRS ESG Problem
My last blog post discussed the risks that ESG investing creates for CalPERS and CalSTRS. If not addressed, then both taxpayers and public employees will bear unnecessary costs and risks. Unfortunately, SEC rules are making this problem even worse. The SEC requires all institutional investors, such as CalPERS and CalSTRS, ...
The ESG Threat to California’s Pensions
California’s public pensions are in trouble. While the Pew Charitable Trusts reports that California’s current unfunded liabilities are nearly $170 billion, as I recently reported in my chartbook on California’s pension crisis, the crisis is much worse. Valuing the liabilities using a more realistic market rate, the total pension debt ...
The Law of Unintended Consequences: The Case of Proxy Advisory Firms
The SEC requires all institutional investors to vote on all matters put forth in proxy statements, or the measures voted on during shareholder meetings. For most institutional investors, keeping up with all of these issues is not feasible, so they turn to proxy advisory firms. Proxy advisory firms help institutional ...
PRI Calls for Reform to Disclose Proxy Advisory Firm Biases in Activist Investment Push
Argues That SEC Should Ensure Shareholder Interests Are Top Priority in Investment Decisions SAN FRANCISCO – Policy reforms should be enacted to ensure that proxy advisory firms promote fund managers’ fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders and increase transparency over the firms’ biases and conflicts of interest, the Pacific Research Institute argued ...
