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New Jersey

New Jersey has four main public pension funds, PERS, TPAF, PFRS, and SPRS. The New Jersey State Investment Council (NJ SIC) handles proxy voting for these retirement systems. The NJ SIC discloses its proxy voting records on this website.

The NJ SIC is comprised of 16 members: 13 members are appointed by the Governor (8 with the advice and consent of the State Senate, 1 from nominees submitted jointly by the President of the Senate and Speaker of the Assembly, 2 from nominees submitted by various employee organizations, 2 from nominees submitted by the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, 1 from nominees submitted by the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), and 1 from nominees submitted by the State Troopers Fraternal Association), 2 members representing the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) and the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF) are designated from members of the respective pension system’s board of trustees, and 1 member is designated by the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from members of the Retired Judges Association of New Jersey.

The first table utilizes the state’s publicly disclosed proxy voting records for public securities that it directly owns through pension fund portfolios. The second table uses the aggregated proxy voting records of the state’s asset managers, who manage the pensions’ stock market portfolio either through mutual funds or ETFs, and are therefore exercising proxy voting privileges as well. Both of these tables are necessary to reflect an accurate and comprehensive picture of the state’s proxy voting records.

Averages

Pro-ESG

Anti-ESG

State Voting Average

74%

State Voting Average

18.52%

State Rank

49th

State Rank

13th

Asset Manager Average

60%

Asset Manager Average

By Asset Manager

Blackstone

Percentage of times Mgr. voted “for” pro-ESG proposals:

60%

Brookfield Asset Management

Percentage of times Mgr. voted “for” pro-ESG proposals:

62%

Homestead Funds

Percentage of times Mgr. voted “for” pro-ESG proposals:

60%

Asset Manager Voting

Board Diversity:

17%

Require Environmental/Social Qualifications:

Establish Environmental/Social Committee:

Link Executive Pay to Social Goals:

Climate Change:

50%

GHG Emissions:

29%

Climate Change Action:

29%

Report on Healthcare/Abortion:

Weapons-Related Proposals:

Social Proposal:

Income Inequality:

Political Activities and Action:

Political Contributions and Lobbying:

63%

Political Lobbying Disclosure:

92%

Racial Equity Audit:

75%

Management Environmental Proposals:

96%

Anti-Social:

Charitable Contributions:

20%

State Voting

Board Diversity:

100.0%

Require Environmental/Social Qualifications:

100.0%

Establish Environmental/Social Committee:

100.0%

Link Executive Pay to Social Goals:

100.0%

Climate Change:

77.1%

GHG Emissions:

100.0%

Report on Healthcare/Abortion:

100.0%

Weapons-Related Proposals:

100.0%

Social Proposal:

83.3%

Income Inequality:

68.8%

Political Activities and Action:

81.8%

Political Contributions and Lobbying:

100.0%

Political Contributions and Lobbying:

100.0%

Racial Equity Audit:

73.3%

Management Environmental Proposals:

66.7%

Anti-Social:

28.6%

Charitable Contributions:

7.7%

**The Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA) has denied that State Street invests equities or casts proxy votes for the State. RSA has yet to publish its proxy voting records or disclose its investment managers. RSA’s public records list State Street a custodial bank and as a fund manager. No other investment managers are named in RSA public records, which is what is reported on the 1792 Exchange Proxy Database. RSA claims that Glass Lewis conducts its proxy voting. 1792 Exchange encourages RSA to publish these voting records in order that these records might be updated on this page. 1792 Exchange also encourages RSA to retain authority over proxy voting for ESG resolutions and not entrust these duties to Glass Lewis, a firm the Attorney General of Alabama has investigated for promoting ESG priorities at the expense of fiduciary responsibility.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this report, ‘Proxy Voting,’ is intended for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Click here for the full disclaimer.