Caisse des Dépôts is the organization reponsible for the management of the pension resources of French State employees and employees of State-owned companies and, as such, is the biggest portfolio investor in that country.
Its real function, however, is as the financial juggernaut of the French State, where investment decisions are based on the whims of that government and its industrial strategy, which tends to be focussed on maintaining French companies under French shareholding and control.
The losers are the pension fund beneficiaries, who see their capital invested for political reasons not for return on investment and certainly not for ethical reasons.
Caisse des Dépôts is NOT to be relied upon for responsible investment principles.
Onésimo Alvarez-Moro
See article:
The Principles for Responsible Investment, developed under the auspices of the UN's Environment Programme and the Global Compact, are being formally introduced today in New York, by the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and in Paris on May 2, 2006. The Caisse des Dépôts played a key role in drafting this first international framework of social and environmental commitments for institutional investors. In addition, it is one of the first organizations to sign the principles and already acts in accordance with the underlying commitments.
A key role for the Caisse des Dépôts, alongside the UN and major global investors
Very active from the outset of the process that led to the development of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Caisse des Dépôts is also the primary financial sponsor of this United Nations initiative. A member of the group of experts and the group of investors (pension funds, major insurance groups and public institutional investors) that worked jointly to draft the PRI, the Caisse des Dépôts also has a seat on the steering committee.
See full Press Release.
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