The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) today announced it has signed a letter in support of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Pay Ratio Rule, which requires public companies to disclose the ratio of CEO pay to that of the median compensation earned by all employees at a company.
The Investor Statement on Pay Ratio Disclosure letter was signed by more than 100 organizations representing $3 trillion in collective assets under management. Other signatories include the New York City Pension Funds, Legal & General Investment Management, Standard Life Investments, and Washington State Investment Board. It was delivered to the SEC’s acting chairman, Michael S. Piwowar, in response to the chairman's request for comments on Reconsideration of Pay Ratio Rule Implementation.
"As a long-term investor, CalPERS believes the Pay Ratio Rule provides important information for investors regarding CEO and employee compensation," said Anne Simpson, CalPERS' investment director, sustainability. "It shines a light on how well a company is managing its human capital."
The letter also aligns with CalPERS' Investment Beliefs (PDF), which include the principle that long-term value creation requires effective management of three forms of capital: financial, physical, and human. Disclosure of this data encourages greater transparency of human capital metrics. It also provides investors the opportunity to analyze risks associated with a company’s current compensation structure and human capital management.
For more than eight decades, CalPERS has built retirement and health security for state, school, and public agency members who invest their lifework in public service. Our pension fund serves more than 1.8 million members in the CalPERS retirement system and administers benefits for more than 1.4 million members and their families in our health program, making us the largest defined-benefit public pension in the U.S. CalPERS' total fund market value currently stands at approximately $312 Billion. For more information, visit www.calpers.ca.gov.
2017 CalPERS and CalSTRS Diversity Forum
We're bringing together investment and corporate executives to discuss how to better capitalize on the abilities of the diverse modern workforce. Join CalPERS and CalSTRS at this year's Diversity Forum, an all-day event on May 10, 2017 in Sacramento.