Arkansas
18 Companies Headquartered in Arkansas
Arcbest Corporation, Arkansas Federal Credit Union, Arvest Bank, Bank OZK (Bank of the Ozarks), Centennial Bank (Home Bancshares), Cross County, Dillard’s, Harps Food Stores, J.B. Hunt, Murphy USA
Arkansas Average CBR Summary
Avg. Company Rating
Avg. Rating Criteria
| Criteria | Risk Level |
|---|---|
| Cancellations | Lower Risk |
| Discriminatory Philanthropy | Lower Risk |
| Employment Protection | High Risk |
Corporate Weaponization
| Criteria | Risk Level |
|---|---|
| Advocacy Bias | Medium Risk |
| Funding | Lower Risk |
| Political Actions | Lower Risk |
Corporate Governance and Public Policy
State Leadership
State Pension Fund Summary
Arkansas has three main public pension systems: the Arkansas Public Employees’ Retirement System (APERS), the Arkansas Judicial Retirement System (AJRS), and the Arkansas State Police Retirement System (ASPRS). Arkansas’ Act 1242 (2009) merged the investable assets of ASPRS with those of APERS, granting all authority over these assets to the APERS Board of Trustees. APERS reports on the proxy voting for all 3 of these systems.
- The APERS board represents eligible public employees of the state and consists of 13 members: 3 Ex Officio (Auditor of State, Treasurer of State, Secretary of the Department of Finance); 6 appointed by the Governor; 2 appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate; 2 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
- APERS discloses its proxy voting records on this website.
- According to its 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, APERS’s investment consultants are Callan and Stephens.
Arkansas uses ISS for its proxy advisory services.
The “By Asset Manager” and “Asset Manager Voting” tables show the proxy voting records of the state’s asset managers who manage the pensions’ stock market portfolio through index, exchange-traded, or mutual funds. Since these are externally managed funds, the asset managers typically retain and exercise proxy voting privileges. This data is used to calculate the state’s pro-ESG and anti-ESG scores to see how the state leverages its externally managed funds in proxy voting.
The “State Voting” table shows the state’s proxy voting records for directly owned securities through pension fund portfolios. The 1792 Exchange commends Arkansas for passing Act 498 which requires the online disclosure of proxy voting for its public pensioners.
Both tables are important to show a comprehensive picture of the state’s proxy voting record.