BOSTON, March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Trillium
Asset Management, LLC ("Trillium") is pleased to announce the
withdrawal of three 2012 shareholder resolutions related to
corporate political spending.
Trillium has recently withdrawn resolutions filed with Chubb
Corp. (NYSE – CB), State Street Corp. (NYSE – STT) and Halliburton
Company (NYSE – HAL) after the companies committed to make
improvement in their transparency and accountability in their
corporate spending on political activities.
"As long-term investors, Trillium is concerned that gaps in
transparency and accountability expose companies to reputational
and business risks that could threaten long-term shareholder
value. Publicly available data does not provide a complete
picture of a company's political spending," said Shelley Alpern, Vice President of Trillium Asset
Management. "We applaud Chubb, Halliburton and State Street for
recognizing the risks involved in political spending, and
mitigating them with stronger governance processes and greater
transparency," Ms. Alpern added.
This was the first resolution related to corporate political
spending that Trillium has filed with Chubb Corporation.
Chubb has agreed to disclose direct and indirect contributions made
to political candidates, committees or tax exempt organizations
engaging in political activities, with names of recipients and
amounts contributed, listed by category.
Similar resolutions filed with Halliburton received substantial
and increasing shareholder support over the past two years,
garnering 30 percent of shareholder votes in 2010 and 46 percent in
2011. "Halliburton's policies – which were fairly restrictive to
begin with -- will be stated more clearly as a result of our
dialogue, and its disclosures will cover any payments made to
independent committees and any political spending done with its
payments to trade association," Alpern commented. "The company told
us that it does not make contributions to federal or state
candidates, 501c-4's or 527 committees."
A resolution concerning corporate political spending was filed
with State Street Corp. in 2011 and received 44 percent of
shareholder support. State Street made a number of significant
improvements to its disclosures and policies, including prohibiting
its trade organizations from using its membership dues for
political contributions and activities (including contributions to
527s) and agreeing to disclose its political contributions to 527s
and tax-exempt organizations.
"We are delighted that State Street has taken this prudent step
which is in the best interests of the company and its investors. We
worked with the company for two years on questions surrounding
political spending disclosure and believe this is an important
development in the financial services industry," said Jonas Kron, Vice President of Trillium Asset
Management.
"With Trillium's help, the number of companies adopting
political spending disclosure has hit 100," said Bruce F. Freed, president of the Center for
Political Accountability. "It reflects growing acceptance of the
need to address the heightened risks posed by political
spending."
Trillium Asset Management, LLC is the oldest independent
investment advisor devoted exclusively to sustainable and
responsible investing. With over $970
million in assets under management, Trillium has been
managing equity and fixed income investments for high net worth
individuals, foundations, endowments, religious institutions, and
other nonprofits, since 1982. A leader in shareholder advocacy and
public policy work, Trillium's goal is to deliver both impact and
performance to its investors.
Contact: Shelley Alpern, Trillium
Asset Management (617) 423-6655
SOURCE Trillium Asset Management, LLC