The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), the second largest public pension fund in the United States, has endorsed the Stewardship Code for institutional investors, becoming the first US-based fund to back the policy, which it called a “standard for good corporate governance.”
The Stewardship Code, for which the FRC is to take reponsibility for following the recommendation of the Walker Review, was previously under the auspices of the ISC.
“We believe there is a universal standard for good corporate governance,” said Anne Sheehan, CalSTRS director of corporate governance. “It includes transparency and disclosure of activities, and engaging the companies to help maximize their performance—a best practice that we’ve followed for years.”
CalSTRS governance policies reflect the new code:
- Public disclosure of governance policies
- How to manage conflicts of interest
- Working collectively with other institutional investors
- Disclosure of proxy votes