Vermont Pension Investment Committee, Montpelier, has voted not to divest from fossil-fuel holdings, said Stephen Rauh, chairman of the committee, in an e-mail.
The committee, which oversees the $3.9 billion Vermont State Retirement Systems, voted July 28 unanimously to reject a proposal to divest part or all of its fossil-fuel holdings, because “divestment was not consistent with its fiduciary duty to plan participants,” Mr. Rauh said.
Mr. Rauh said the VPIC staff; Vermont state Treasurer Elizabeth Pearce, who is a member of the committee; and investment consultant NEPC recommended against divestment because of “the potentially adverse impact on expected return, expected risk, one-time transaction costs, and on-going increased management fees, among other factors.”
As of June 30, exposure to energy and fossil-fuel-related holdings by the funds overseen by the VPIC totaled about $263 million.
