This Letter to the Editor originally appeared in New York Daily News on September 21, 2019. Rockville Centre, L.I.: Re “Don’t be fuelish, Tom,” (Sept. 2): New York’s retirees served the state all of their lives. As a former vice chairman of the FDNY Pension Fund and advisory board member for the Institute for Pension Fund […]
Commentary
Opinion/Letter: Divestment vote was doubly wrong – Christopher Burnham in the Charlottesville Daily Progress
This letter to the Editor originally appeared in the Charlottesville The Daily Progress on August 13, 2019 Charlottesville voted to divest from fossil fuels and national defense companies. The City Council of Charlottesville seeks to disassociate itself from companies that fuel our cars, heat our schools and businesses, or support our armed forces. As a Virginian and […]
COMMENTARY: It’s Proxy Season And Here’s Why That Matters For Public Pensions
This op-ed originally appeared in Forbes on June 13, 2019. This is the time of year when publicly traded companies host their annual shareholder meetings. During these meetings the shareholders vote their shares on various issues impacting the company. The company’s proxy statement will include shareholder resolutions on everything from executive pay to proposals that impact how the company […]
COMMENTARY: State Pension Funds Shouldn’t be Captive to Politics
This op-ed originally appeared in The Buffalo News on June 09, 2019. The politicization of pensions continues plaguing our state. In a misguided effort to fight climate change, State Sen. Liz Krueger introduced Senate bill 2126, the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act, earlier this year. This prompted an open letter from New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, urging Krueger to reconsider […]
Brower, O’Connor Op-Ed in Investors Business Daily: A Pension Fund Should Focus On Financial Returns, Not Social Policy
Both of us were trained as firefighters. Along with many other first responders across the country, we chose public service to help citizens in our communities. We knew our career choice would not make us rich, but like millions of public servants in this country, we count on our pensions for a secure retirement. We’re […]
Chris Burnham Commentary in Institutional Investing in Infrastructure: Institutional investors don’t always see eye-to-eye on how to implement ESG
The trend toward implementing ESG — environment, social and governance — has hit critical mass, and most investment organizations are at various stages of either installing or preparing these policies. But could the hype get in the way of an organization’s mission? That is a question that is on the minds of many people with a fiduciary […]
Chris Burnham Commentary in Barron’s: ESG Investing Suffers a Setback in California
A funny thing happened recently in the left-leaning Golden State. In a board election last month, members of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, or Calpers, the biggest pension fund in the nation, threw out their president and gave ESG investing a bloody nose. ESG is the increasingly popular asset-management style that applies environmental, social, and […]
Chris Burnham Commentary in Fox & Hounds Daily: CalPERS Must Focus on Fiduciary Responsibility, Not Social Issues
Recently California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) – whose former board president, Priya Mathur, was discarded as a board member by a landslide vote of 57% to 43% – signed a letter asking the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to develop metrics for requiring listed companies to report on their compliance with environmental, social, and […]
IPFI in Finance et Investissement: Tobacco reportedly cost CalPERS $ 3 billion
Are environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria generating alpha? Not always, says the US Institute for Pension Fund Integrity (IPFI) according to which the institutional manager California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) would have lost more than US $ 3 billion in potential returns following its withdrawal from the sector. tobacco in the year 2000. […]
Firehouse News Op-Ed by Kevin O’Connor: Fire Politics: Protecting Your Future
When someone raises their hand and takes an oath to become a firefighter or EMS professional, they knowingly assume the risks associated with one of the nation’s most dangerous professions. Very few young firefighters think about the future in terms of needing a pension and/or disability benefits. There are almost 3,000 public sector pension plans […]