Investors Against Genocide
Draw the line at investing in
genocide
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Susan Morgan –
617-797-0451
GENOCIDE-FREE INVESTING PROPOSAL ON
BALLOT AT 30 VANGUARD FUNDS
First
Vanguard proxies
since 2002 to be mailed this week giving millions of Vanguard customers the
opportunity FOR”a
policy to avoid investing in genocideto vote “
Boston, MA – April 13, 2009 – Due to a
shareholder action coordinated by Investors
Against Genocide, millions
of Vanguard customers will soon have the opportunity to vote on whether or not
they want their personal savings to be invested by Vanguard in companies that
substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity. This special
shareholder meeting provides the first opportunity for Vanguard shareholders to
vote their proxies since the meeting on December 3, 2002.
On April 9, Vanguard’s SEC filing confirmed that the genocide-free
investing proposal will be on the proxy ballot to be mailed the week of April 13
to shareholders of record of 30 of its
funds. The filing states
the combined net assets of those funds as $597 billion, more than half of all
Vanguard’s mutual fund assets.
The shareholder proposal asks the fund’s
Board to “institute procedures to prevent holding investments in companies that,
in the judgment of the Board, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes
against humanity, the most egregious violations of human rights.” The
submissions at Vanguard are part of a broad campaign of shareholder action
coordinated by Investors Against Genocide. The proposal is also expected to be
on the ballot in early August for The Investment Company of America, a $53
billion fund, from American Funds, with more than 4 million
shareholders.
"We urge Vanguard customers to check
their mail and email for these proxy materials which provide an opportunity to
vote for the proposal to avoid investments in genocide," states Eric Cohen,
chairperson of Investors Against Genocide. "This vote is particularly unusual,
because Vanguard customers have not had an opportunity to vote in nearly seven
years, and also because the genocide-free investing proposal is the first
shareholder proposal to make it onto the proxy ballot at Vanguard. We hope that
shareholders of the 30 funds will carefully read question three on their proxy
ballots and vote according to their conscience on this important
issue."
The shareholder proposal for
genocide-free investing raises the issue of the fundamental management
responsibilities of financial institutions and whether shareholders should be
able to expect mainstream funds to avoid investing in companies contributing to
genocide. The public's interest in this expectation was highlighted by a 2007
study by KRC Research, in which 71% of respondents said companies should take
into account extreme cases of human rights abuses, such as genocide, when
investing overseas, rather than base their investment decisions on economic
criteria only. Reflecting the broad public support against investing in
genocide, both Houses of Congress unanimously passed the Sudan Accountability
and Divestment Act passed, signed into law by President Bush on December 31,
2007, which provided explicit support for
fiduciaries to divest from
Sudan.
In Vanguard’s SEC filing yesterday, the
company asks its shareholders to “vote against the proposal because it calls for
procedures that duplicate existing practices and procedures of the Vanguard
funds.” According to Vanguard’s SEC filing, the company has adopted a new policy
which “applies to all 157 funds and is substantially identical to the
shareholder proposal submitted for 30 funds.” The filing noted that the Vanguard
funds’ “trustees directed Vanguard to implement a formal procedure for regular
reporting to the trustees on portfolio companies whose direct involvement in
crimes against humanity or patterns of egregious abuses of human rights would
warrant engagement or potential divestment.”
However in contrast to its stated
policy, Vanguard’s SEC filing on March 31 showed that, in its most
recent quarter, the company increased its holdings of PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) and
the other large oil industry partners of the government of Sudan which help fund
the genocide in Darfur. Vanguard has so far declined to make public the policy
adopted by its funds’ Board of Trustees, the names of companies about which it
has concerns, or how it intends to implement the policy with problem
companies.
“Vanguard has failed this first public
test of its recently announced policy which seemed to call for action against
investments in companies involved in crimes against humanity or patterns of
egregious abuses of human rights,” states Cohen. “Further, Vanguard has offered
no explanation for its choice to buy more stock in these companies. For the
millions of Americans who are Vanguard customers and do not want their savings
or pension funds connected to genocide, Vanguard provides no reassurance –
purchasing more stock in problem companies, no evidence of positive action, and
no transparency about Vanguard’s approach.”
Vanguard’s lack of transparency stands
in stark contrast to the recent, clear, public statements by TIAA-CREF to take
strong action against PetroChina, and the other problem companies, and the
public action by 27 states and 61 colleges and universities that have divested
from PetroChina because of its complicity in Sudan.
On March 26, TIAA-CREF announced its decision to vigorously engage PetroChina and
other problem companies partnering with the Government of Sudan and to divest
from those companies if they continue to substantially contribute to genocide or
crimes against humanity. TIAA-CREF’s policy applies to the ongoing genocide in
Darfur, Sudan as well as to future genocides. This policy at TIAA-CREF is a
clear victory for the cause of genocide-free investing.
As a result of this significant
commitment from TIAA-CREF, Investors Against Genocide withdrew its shareholder
proposal from the proxy ballot for TIAA-CREF’s July shareholders’
meeting.
In the spring of 2008, shareholder
proposals at 21 Fidelity mutual funds asked those funds to make a commitment
to be genocide-free. Despite Fidelity’s active
opposition, the proposals
received an unusually high level of voter support, ranging from 20% to 31%, surprising the mutual
fund industry.
During the presidential campaign, John
and Cindy
McCain, Barack
Obama, Sarah
Palin, John Edwards, Rudy
Giuliani and Sam Brownback sold their mutual funds that held
substantial amounts of stock in one or
more of the problematic oil companies.
In September 2008, the Congressional
Human Rights Caucus held a briefing on genocide-free investing focusing on
the problem of US financial institutions making large investments in genocide.
Plans are underway for formal Congressional committee
hearings on
genocide-free investing in 2009.
Many US investment firms have large
holdings of shares in PetroChina, a Chinese oil company that is one of the worst
offenders among companies helping to fund the genocide in the Darfur region of
Sudan. Some of the largest holders of PetroChina include the well-known and
widely held mutual fund firms Franklin Templeton, American Funds, Fidelity, and
Vanguard. Thousands of individuals have joined this movement and divested their
personal savings from investment firms, like Fidelity, that own shares in such
companies.
Hundreds of thousands have been killed
and 2.7 million have been driven from their homes, in Darfur. This humanitarian
crisis has been labeled by the US government as the first genocide of the 21st
century. The government of Sudan has continued to pursue genocide in Darfur for
nearly five years, using as much as 70% of its oil revenue to provide arms and
funding for the genocide, rather than economic development for the poor people
of Sudan. Although federal law prevents most US companies from operating in
Sudan, American financial institutions, notably mutual fund companies, are major
investors in the Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian oil companies involved in Sudan
which are helping to fund this genocide. As a result, ordinary investors,
through their mutual funds, family savings, and pension plans entrusted to these
financial institutions are inadvertently investing in
genocide.
####
Investors Against
Genocide is a non-profit
organization dedicated to convincing mutual fund and other investment firms to
change their investing strategy so as to avoid complicity in genocide. The
organization works with individuals, companies, organizations, financial
institutions, the press, and government agencies to build awareness and to
create financial, public relations, and regulatory pressure for investment firms
to change. The ultimate goals are that the Government of Sudan ends its deadly
genocide in Darfur and that investment firms avoid investing in genocide. For
more information, visit www.investorsagainstgenocide.org.
Investors Against Genocide
Draw the line at investing in
genocide
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Susan Morgan –
617-797-0451
TIAA-CREF ANNOUNCES ESCALATION IN
EFFORTS TO AVOID INVESTMENTS IN COMPANIES WITH TIES TO
GENOCIDE
Investors Against Genocide withdraws
shareholder proposal that prompted escalation
Boston, MA – March 26, 2009 – In an
important victory for the cause of genocide-free investing, Investors Against
Genocide has announced it withdrew its shareholder proposal from the proxy
ballot for TIAA-CREF’s July shareholders’ meeting. This announcement follows
TIAA-CREF’s decision to vigorously engage PetroChina and other problem companies
partnering with the Government of Sudan and to divest from those companies if
they continue to substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against
humanity. TIAA-CREF’s policy applies to the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan,
as well as to future genocides.
According to Eric Cohen, Chairperson of
Investors Against Genocide, the decision by TIAA-CREF is an important milestone
for the financial services industry. “We commend TIAA-CREF for its clear and
public leadership in drawing the line at genocide. While ethical investing may
mean different things to different people, TIAA-CREF’s decision supports the
belief of the overwhelming majority of Americans who do not want their savings
and pension funds connected to genocide,” states Cohen. “TIAA-CREF’s commitment
to act sets a higher standard for the entire financial services
industry.”
TIAA-CREF’s press release today stated,
“We recognize that genocide and crimes against humanity, whether in Darfur or
elsewhere, require a higher standard of response.” TIAA-CREF stated that it will
“seek meetings between TIAA-CREF executives and executives of target companies
to encourage them to take positive and meaningful humanitarian steps and attempt
to end genocide.” Target companies include PetroChina, CNPC Hong Kong, Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation, Sinopec, and PETRONAS. The company further states that
it will “evaluate progress within nine months and, if we still hold positions in
these companies at that time, we will divest their shares from all accounts if
milestones showing significant progress are not achieved, and announce that
decision publicly.”
“By its statement today, TIAA-CREF has
recognized the unique importance of taking aggressive action in the face of
genocide and crimes against humanity,” Cohen said. “We expect that the new
policy of escalated actions and strong messages referenced in today’s statement
will be formally integrated into TIAA-CREF’s published
policies.”
Investors Against Genocide had
shareholder proposals pending that applied to the College Retirement Equity Fund
(CREF) accounts and would have been voted on at the shareholder meeting in July.
Today’s action by TIAA-CREF sets policy for all of TIAA-CREF’s accounts and
funds, whether they are actively or passively managed.
On March 10, Vanguard announced that it
had implemented a new, corporate-wide policy that it said was “substantially
identical” to Investors Against Genocide’s shareholder proposal regarding
investments in companies connected with genocide and crimes against humanity.
According to Vanguard’s SEC filing of preliminary proxy materials for its
shareholder meeting on July 2, 2009, the
Vanguard funds’ “trustees directed
Vanguard to implement a formal procedure for regular reporting to the trustees
on portfolio companies whose direct involvement in crimes against humanity or
patterns of egregious abuses of human rights would warrant engagement or
potential divestment.” One of the first concrete demonstrations of Vanguard’s
new policy may be in the filing expected on March 31 showing the holdings of
Vanguard’s Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund. “If Vanguard’s Emerging Markets
Stock Index Fund shows a significant reduction in its holdings of PetroChina,
then we will have a clear signal that Vanguard’s Trustees are serious about not
connecting their customers with the genocide in Darfur,” said
Cohen.
The shareholder proposals submitted for
30 Vanguard funds and 6 CREF accounts are part of a broad campaign of
shareholder action coordinated by Investors Against Genocide. The shareholder
proposal asks the fund’s Board to “institute procedures to prevent holding
investments in companies that, in the judgment of the Board, substantially
contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity, the most egregious violations
of human rights.”
The proposal raises the issue of the
fundamental management responsibilities of financial institutions and whether
shareholders should be able to expect mainstream funds to be genocide-free. The
public's interest in this expectation was highlighted by a 2007 study by KRC
Research, in which 71% of respondents said companies should take into account
extreme cases of human rights abuses, such as genocide, when investing overseas,
rather than base their investment decisions on economic criteria
only.
According to Cohen, the recent policy
developments at TIAA-CREF and Vanguard are an extremely positive indication that
the financial services industry is beginning to shift toward genocide-free
investing. “Moving forward, market forces will encourage other very large
mainstream financial services companies to follow suit,” said Cohen. “By doing
the right thing, TIAA-CREF and Vanguard will benefit by an influx of new
customers who do not want their personal savings tied to the genocide in Darfur
or to future genocides,” said Cohen.
Shareholder proposals are also slated
for a vote at American Funds in August and have been submitted to other fund
companies including T. Rowe Price, Putnam, Barclay’s, and Franklin Templeton
among others.
In the spring of 2008, shareholder
proposals at 21 Fidelity mutual funds asked those funds to make a commitment
to be genocide-free. Despite Fidelity’s active
opposition, the proposals
received an unusually high level of voter support for a shareholder proposal on
a social issue, ranging from 20% to 31%.
Public recognition of the problem of
investing in genocide has grown over the last two years, along with support for
avoiding such investments. The House and Senate unanimously passed the
Sudan
Accountability and Divestment Act, signed by President Bush in December
2007. By July 2008, 27 states and at least 61 colleges and universities had
decided to divest from
Sudan.
During the presidential campaign, John
and Cindy
McCain, Barack
Obama, Sarah
Palin, Rudy Guiliani, John
Edwards, and Sam Brownback sold their mutual funds that held substantial amounts
of stock in one or more of the problematic oil companies.
In September 2008, the Congressional
Human Rights Caucus held a briefing on genocide-free investing focusing on
the problem of US financial institutions making large investments in genocide.
Plans are underway for formal Congressional committee
hearings on
genocide-free investing in 2009.
Many US investment firms have large
holdings of shares in PetroChina, a Chinese oil company that
is
one of the worst offenders among
companies helping to fund the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. Some of
the largest holders of PetroChina include the well-known and widely held mutual
fund firms Franklin Templeton, American Funds, and Fidelity.
Hundreds of thousands have been killed
and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes, in Darfur. This humanitarian
crisis has been labeled by the US government as the first genocide of the 21st
century. The government of Sudan has continued to pursue genocide in Darfur for
nearly five years, using as much as 70% of its oil revenue to provide arms and
funding for the genocide, rather than economic development for the poor people
of Sudan. Although federal law prevents most US companies from operating in
Sudan, American financial institutions, notably mutual fund companies, are major
investors in the Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian oil companies involved in Sudan
which are helping to fund this genocide. As a result, ordinary investors,
through their mutual funds, family savings, and pension plans entrusted to these
financial institutions are inadvertently investing in
genocide.
####
Investors Against
Genocide is a non-profit
organization dedicated to convincing mutual fund and other investment firms to
change their investing strategy so as to avoid complicity in genocide. The
organization works with individuals, companies, organizations, financial
institutions, the press, and government agencies to build awareness and to
create financial, public relations, and regulatory pressure for investment firms
to change. The ultimate goals are that the Government of Sudan ends its deadly
genocide in Darfur and that investment firms avoid investing in genocide. For
more information, visit www.investorsagainstgenocide.org.
Investors Against Genocide
Draw the line at investing in
genocide
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Susan Morgan –
617-797-0451
VANGUARD ANNOUNCES PROCEDURES TO AVOID
INVESTMENTS IN COMPANIES COMPLICIT IN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
New procedures are “substantially
identical” to Investors Against Genocide’s shareholder
action
Boston, MA – March 11, 2009 – Investors
Against Genocide welcomes Vanguard’s SEC filing yesterday of preliminary proxy
materials for its shareholder meeting on July 2, 2009, referencing a new,
corporate-wide policy regarding investments in companies connected with crimes
against humanity.
The filing also included the
“genocide-free investing” proposal for voting by 30 Vanguard funds. These
proposals are part of the campaign coordinated by Investors Against Genocide, a
non-profit organization to convince mutual fund and other investment firms to
change their investing strategy so as to avoid complicity in
genocide.
According to Vanguard’s filing, this new policy “applies to all 157
funds and is substantially identical to the shareholder proposal submitted for
30 funds.” The filing noted that the Vanguard funds’ “trustees directed Vanguard
to implement a formal procedure for regular reporting to the trustees on
portfolio companies whose direct involvement in crimes against humanity or
patterns of egregious abuses of human rights would warrant engagement or
potential divestment.”
“We welcome the Board’s decision to
evaluate and address investments in companies that substantially contribute to
genocide or other crimes against humanity, the world’s most egregious violations
of human rights,” states Eric Cohen, chairperson of Investors Against Genocide.
“This action by the Board of Trustees of Vanguard is a clear affirmation that
fiduciary responsibility and ethical responsibility are not mutually
exclusive.”
The shareholder proposals submitted for
30 funds are part of a broad campaign of shareholder action coordinated by
Investors Against Genocide. The shareholder proposal asks the fund’s Board to
“institute procedures to prevent holding investments in companies that, in the
judgment of the Board, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against
humanity, the most egregious violations of human rights.”
In Vanguard’s SEC filing, the company
asks its shareholders to “vote against the proposal because it calls for
procedures that duplicate existing practices and procedures of the Vanguard
funds.”
By applying its new policy to all its
funds, Vanguard is demonstrating the feasibility of divesting not only from
actively managed funds, but also from funds that track an index. Managers of
funds that oppose genocide-free investing have sometimes cited index funds as a
reason that they are unable to take action. Vanguard’s action demonstrates that
both actively and passively managed funds may be structured to avoid complicity
in genocide.
Cohen noted that one of the first
concrete demonstrations of Vanguard’s new policy may be in the filing expected
on March 31 showing the holdings of Vanguard’s Emerging Markets Stock Index
Fund. The most recent available SEC filing for this fund shows it owning
149,630,899 shares of PetroChina. “If Vanguard’s Emerging Markets Stock Index
Fund shows a significant reduction in its holdings of PetroChina, then we will
have a clear signal that Vanguard’s Trustees are serious about not connecting
their customers with the genocide in Darfur.”
Over the next month, Investors Against
Genocide will be in discussions with Vanguard about whether the shareholder
proposals for “genocide-free investing” will be withdrawn from the proxy
statement in light of this new development. According to Cohen, PetroChina is a
good test case because it is widely considered the worst of the companies that
provide the funds the Government of Sudan needs to carry on the genocide in
Darfur.
The proposal raises the issue of the
fundamental management responsibilities of financial institutions and whether
shareholders should be able to expect mainstream funds to be genocide-free. The
public's interest in this expectation was highlighted by a 2007 study by KRC
Research, in which 71% of respondents said companies should take into account
extreme cases of human rights abuses, such as genocide, when investing overseas,
rather than base their investment decisions on economic criteria
only.
Public recognition of the problem of
investing in genocide has grown over the last two years, along with support for
avoiding such investments.
The House and Senate unanimously passed
the Sudan
Accountability and Divestment Act, signed by President Bush in December
2007.
In the spring of 2008, shareholder
proposals at 21 Fidelity mutual funds asked those funds to make a commitment
to be genocide-free. Despite Fidelity’s active
opposition, the proposals
received an unusually high level of voter support, ranging from 20% to 31%, surprising the mutual
fund industry.
By July 2008, 27 states and at least 61
colleges and universities had decided to divest from
Sudan.
During the presidential campaign, John
and Cindy
McCain, Barack
Obama, Sarah
Palin, Rudy Guiliani, John
Edwards, and Sam Brownback sold their mutual funds that held substantial amounts
of stock in one or more of the problematic oil companies.
In September 2008, the Congressional
Human Rights Caucus held a briefing on genocide-free investing focusing on
the problem of US financial institutions making large investments in genocide.
Plans are underway for formal Congressional committee hearings on genocide-free investing in
2009.
Many US investment firms have large
holdings of shares in PetroChina, a Chinese oil company that is one of the worst
offenders among companies helping to fund the genocide in the Darfur region of
Sudan. Some of the largest holders of PetroChina include the well-known and
widely held mutual fund firms Franklin Templeton, American Funds, Fidelity, and
Vanguard. An increasing number of colleges, universities, and states have taken
action to divest from companies that help fund the genocide in Darfur. Thousands
of individuals have joined this movement and divested their personal savings
from investment firms, like Fidelity, that own shares in such
companies.
Hundreds of thousands have been killed
and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes, in Darfur. This humanitarian
crisis has been labeled by the US government as the first genocide of the 21st
century. The government of Sudan has continued to pursue genocide in Darfur for
nearly five years, using as much as 70% of its oil revenue to provide arms and
funding for the genocide, rather than economic development for the poor people
of Sudan. Although federal law prevents most US companies from operating in
Sudan, American financial institutions, notably mutual fund companies, are major
investors in the Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian oil companies involved in Sudan
which are helping to fund this genocide. As a result, ordinary investors,
through their mutual funds, family savings, and pension plans entrusted to these
financial institutions are inadvertently investing in
genocide.
####
Investors Against
Genocide is a non-profit
organization dedicated to convincing mutual fund and other investment firms to
change their investing strategy so as to avoid complicity in genocide. The
organization works with individuals, companies, organizations, financial
institutions, the press, and government agencies to build awareness and to
create financial, public relations, and regulatory pressure for investment firms
to change. The ultimate goals are that the Government of Sudan ends its deadly
genocide in Darfur and that investment firms avoid investing in genocide. For
more information, visit www.investorsagainstgenocide.org.
Email on Vanguard voting begins this
week
Investors Against Genocide
Draw the line at investing in
genocide
This week, millions of Vanguard
proxy ballots will be mailed and emailed to American households. The
ballots provide Vanguard customers with a unique opportunity to vote for
genocide-free investing. For shareholders of 30 of its funds, a vote
FOR Question 3 indicates they do not
want Vanguard to invest their family savings in companies that
substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against
humanity.
HELP “GET OUT THE
VOTE”
Whether or not you are a customer,
we need your help to get out the vote.Please forward this email to friends
and family and also use other means such as social networking sites,
blogs, group meetings, and bulletin boards to spread the word.We need to
reach as many voters as possible since many people ignore proxy ballots
assuming they contain no issues of interest. Click
here for materials
you can use to help spread the word.
|
|
VOTE YOUR VANGUARD
SHARES
If you are a Vanguard customer, watch
for your proxy ballots and vote your conscience on this important issue. Look
for Question
3 on the ballot
page.
Vanguard is urging customers to vote
“against” Question
3 stating that the company
adopted a policy that is "substantially identical" to our shareholder proposal.
However, despite of the encouraging announcement about this policy, we were
disappointed to learn from Vanguard’s SEC filing on March 31 that they actually
recently increased their holdings of PetroChina and other large oil industry
partners of the government of Sudan which help fund the genocide in
Darfur.Vanguard offers no explanation for its choice to buy more stock in these
companies. Vanguard declines to release the policy adopted by its funds’ Board
of Trustees, the names of companies about which it has concerns, or how it
intends to implement the policy with problem companies.Vanguard’s lack of action
and lack of transparency fails to demonstrate the commitment that shareholders
deserve to feel confident that their savings are not connected to
genocide.
The voting will remain open up until the
shareholders meeting on July 2.All Vanguard shareholders can change their vote
to be FOR Question 3 right up until the
meeting.For instructions on how to change your vote or if you no longer have
your voting materials, contact us at VanguardVote@InvestorsAgainstGenocide.org.
SEND AN EMAIL TO
VANGUARD
Whether you are a customer or not,
please click
here to send email to
Vanguard telling them to immediately divest the problem companies and become
more transparent about their policy on companies tied to human tights
abuses.
This battle with Vanguard will be very
hard to win, since most shareholders don’t bother to vote.Vanguard’s ambiguous
policy will make our work more difficult.Please help us “get out the vote” for
genocide-free investing.
Thanks so much all you’ve done and
continue to do for the cause.
The Investors Against Genocide
Team
PS – If you haven't already joined us,
please volunteer to submit a shareholder proposal for any mutual fund you have
held for over a year and in which you have at least $2,000 invested.We’ve made
the process very easy and completely confidential. Click here
for details. Becoming
a volunteer costs nothing, extends the reach of the campaign, and helps to force
a vote and increased public attention on the problem of financial firms
investing in genocide.
Email on major victories for
genocide-free investing
Major victories for genocide-free
investing - email sent on
March 27, 2009
Investors Against Genocide
Draw the line at investing in
genocide
Thanks to your support, we have
exciting news about two huge steps forward in our campaign. Our message is
being heard and has resulted in significant changes at two of the largest
mutual funds.
On March 26, TIAA-CREF announced
its decision to vigorously engage PetroChina and other problem companies
partnering with the Government of Sudan and to divest from those companies
if they continue to substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against
humanity. TIAA-CREF’s
policy applies to the
ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan, as well as to future genocides.
This policy at TIAA-CREF is a clear victory for the cause of genocide-free
investing. As a result of this significant commitment from
TIAA-CREF, Investors Against Genocide has withdrawn its shareholder proposal from the
proxy ballot for TIAA-CREF’s July shareholders’
meeting.
Additionally, on March 10,
Vanguard announced that it had implemented a new, corporate-wide policy
that it said was “substantially
identical” to
Investors Against Genocide’s shareholder proposal regarding investments in
companies connected with genocide and crimes against humanity.
According to Vanguard’s SEC filing of preliminary proxy materials
for its shareholder meeting on July 2, 2009, the Vanguard funds’ “trustees
directed Vanguard to implement a formal procedure for regular reporting to
the trustees on portfolio companies whose direct involvement in crimes
against humanity or patterns of egregious abuses of human rights would
warrant engagement or potential
divestment.”
|
Click here for
information on how to submit a shareholder
proposal!
|
We will monitor Vanguard's actions for a
concrete demonstration of their new policy, with indications perhaps as early as
their next SEC filing on March 31. Depending on what we see, we will
decide whether to withdraw the 30 proposals that are now scheduled for votes by
Vanguard shareholders.
We will keep you posted as events
unfold. With the precedents now set at TIAA-CREF and at Vanguard we have
higher hopes for action at other funds as well. Our strategy of submitting
shareholder proposals is proving successful, to force engagement on the need for
investment firms to implement a policy against investing in genocide.
Thanks so much for all you’ve done to make that strategy work and to achieve
these significant milestones.
The Investors Against Genocide
Team
PS – There are still major funds that
haven’t taken action, including American Funds, Barclays, Fidelity, and Franklin
Templeton. If you haven't already joined us, please volunteer to submit a
shareholder proposal for any mutual fund you have held for over a year and in
which you have at least $2,000 invested. We’ve made the process very easy
and completely confidential. Click here
for details. Becoming
a volunteer costs nothing, and has tremendous leverage, since your submission to
any given fund may result in all of that fund's shareholders having a chance to
vote on the proposal to avoid investing in companies that substantially
contribute to genocide. Depending on the fund, that could mean that a
million shareholders, or more, may get a chance to
vote!
