Socially responsible investing funds support "traditional" corporate governance proxy resolutions such as expensing stock options and separating CEO and board chair positions more often than "conventional" funds do, according to a new study from Social Investment Forum Foundation.
Data from July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2004, the first 12-month period after the SEC required mutual funds to disclose their proxy votes, indicated that socially responsible funds supported twice as many shareholder-proposed corporate governance resolutions and "vote no" campaigns as conventional funds. Socially responsible funds voted to support four "plain vanilla" corporate governance issues — poison pills, expensing stock options, golden parachutes and declassifying the board — 90% of the time, compared with 72% of the time for conventional funds, said Tracey Rembert, who wrote the study.
