Hurt in downturn, California pension plan urges stricter Wall ... - Newsday
REPORTING FROM SACRAMENTO - The nation's biggest public pension fund, which has lost more than a quarter of its value in the last seven months, is planning to rally big investors nationwide to demand changes in the way Wall Street operates.
The new chief executive of the California Public Employees Retirement System said the fund would work with other state pension funds and retirement systems to insist on greater openness in the way companies are run, tougher regulation by federal agencies, stricter rules on investment-rating groups and better international financial oversight.
CalPERS, an acknowledged pioneer in pushing companies it invests in to improve their internal governance, is ready to take the tactic "to a new level," said lawyer Anne Stausboll, a 10-year fund veteran, who took over Jan. 12.
Such moves, she said, will be a vital part of CalPERS' efforts this year to boost its financial performance. The $174.1-billion
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