Dollar Tree Stores Inc., Chesapeake, Va., won the support of proxy advising firm Proxy Governance in the company’s opposition to a shareholder proposal introduced by the $245.4 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Sacramento, calling for annual elections of directors. Dollar Tree directors now serve staggered three-year terms. “We do not believe the classified board has been detrimental to shareholders and, in fact, can provide benefits such as promoting independence and stability,” a Proxy Governance report said.
CalPERS and Dollar Tree “have differing positions as to the company’s performance over the long term,” the report said. “According to our own analysis, the company has outperformed peers over the past five years” as of April 30. A CalPERS statement said Dollar Tree underperformed the Russell 3000 Index by 47.4 percentage points and the Russell Peer Index by 13.9 points for the five years ended April 30.
Dollar Tree’s annual meeting is June 19.
