Inside the meeting, shareholders and advocacy groups press TIAA-CREF officers to explain several governance scandals in the past year and its investment in some socially irresponsible companies; demonstrators outside the building take their case to the public.
As corporate scandals continue to rock Wall Street, the nation’s largest pension fund is once again coming under fire from the Make TIAA-CREF Ethical coalition.* At the CREF annual shareholders’ meeting July 19, advocacy groups are joining shareholders to demand greater accountability from TIAA-CREF, the $350 billion pension fund for educators and researchers. As demonstrators picket outside TIAA-CREF headquarters with banners, placards, and costumes, shareholders will speak up inside the annual meeting. Two years ago, at an annual meeting also held in New York, TIAA-CREF Chair and CEO Herbert Allison was pounded by shareholders for his exorbitant salary.
Now shareholders want to know why the self-proclaimed governance leader is itself coming under scrutiny. After SEC complaints, two trustees had to be removed because of financial conflicts of interest. Additionally, their CFO, now on a leave of absence, is under investigation by the SEC and DOJ for practices in her previous job. Finally, after doing an insufficient background check, they hired a criminal, resulting in a breech in security and a subsequent lack of candor about events surrounding her removal.
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