Do you know the political slant of your portfolio?

Increasingly, shareholders want to know the political contributions their companies are making.

from the April 16, 2007 edition

Page 1 of 3

This is the time of the year when investors get to stand up and be counted – through shareholder resolutions. This year at corporate annual meetings around the United States, many resolutions involve issues of particular concern to ethical investors, including executive compensation, disclosure of political spending, and even the sexual exploitation of children in tourism. Recently, the Monitor's Laurent Belsie discussed these issues with two Boston-based experts: Tim Smith, director of socially responsive investment at Walden Asset Management, and Lauren Compere, director of shareholder advocacy for Boston Common Asset Management. Here's an edited transcript of their conversation:

We raise many issues in this forum, but sexual exploitation of children is a new one. What's happening?

Ms. Compere: We filed a resolution last proxy season with Marriott International, looking at the implications of the hotel industry and the link that it's had with children being used abroad and here in terms of sexual exploitation. After Marriott agreed to adopt a policy for protection of children and train their employees to look for [customers preying on them], we decided to broaden the scope of the campaign to look at other hotel chains, airlines, as well as cruise lines. So there were two resolutions that were filed this proxy season with other hotels – Host Hotels and Starwood. But the shareholders have negotiated withdrawal [of the resolutions], and we're currently negotiating terms with both those companies.

What did Marriott agree to do?

Compere: Marriott agreed specifically to amend their human rights policy to include a particular section on protection of children that includes the training of employees to look for this sort of incident. This is training from the front-line receptionist to the CEO himself. It's worldwide. And they also have incorporated some very specific changes in their business code of conduct to include some compliance and auditing functions that will look for those sorts of incidents.

Tim, one big issue this year is executive compensation.

Mr. Smith: This year, a cross section of investors, maybe about 40 of them, have filed resolutions with maybe 60 companies asking for a very simple thing: that we have the right to have an advisory vote on ... the pay package.

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | Next Page