The Oregon State Treasury invests on behalf of public entities and beneficiaries of the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System. Managing one of the nation’s largest pension funds and other public assets, Treasury holds investments in nearly every publicly traded company. As a shareholder, Treasury actively engages in corporate governance by voting on key issues through a process called proxy voting.

As a responsible shareholder, Treasury is committed to promoting good corporate governance, addressing social and environmental risks, and encouraging companies to make decisions that enhance long-term value. This approach reflects Treasury’s dedication to transparency, accountability, and ethical decision-making among companies it invests in while safeguarding pension and state assets.

 Content Editor

Investing Responsibly To Protect Beneficiaries

"As Oregon's State Treasurer, my priority is to ensure the long-term growth and security of all funds under my oversight, including the retirement funds of Oregon's dedicated public employees. Read my full statement to find out how Treasury invests responsibly and promotes transparency, responsible governance, and sustainable business practices."

Full Statement

The Oregon State Treasury places a high priority on fulfilling its fiduciary duty to beneficiaries and upholds a commitment to transparency. To ensure a balance between these responsibilities, Treasury has established a thorough and transparent process for proxy voting.

Process

With holdings in thousands of publicly traded companies, the proxy voting process is largely automated, leveraging technology to efficiently manage the large volume of votes. Treasury has elected to utilize a proxy voting agent, Glass Lewis, to provide research, analysis, recommendations, and facilitate voting on Treasury’s behalf. Glass Lewis automatically populates and executes votes that are intended to align with our core investment beliefs and based on the chosen Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) policy. Treasury staff monitor the voting process and can change votes away from the Glass Lewis recommendations through an internal approval process. This ensures alignment with our fiduciary duties and allows for flexibility in responding to specific company or industry circumstances. Votes can be held on a variety of organizational topics such as election of the Board of Directors, executive compensation, organizational structure, environmental practices, and more.

Glass Lewis ESG Policy

Guidelines

Treasury has chosen the Glass Lewis ESG policy as the foundation for its proxy voting. This policy is recognized for its progressiveness in addressing climate and ESG-related issues. The guidelines are designed to promote sustainable business practices, enhance shareholder value, and mitigate risks related to climate change, human capital management, diversity, and other ESG factors.

In addition to the Glass Lewis ESG policy, Treasury has implemented an additional voting policy enhancing scrutiny based on the CEO-to-Median Employee pay ratio.

Policy On CEO-to-Median Employee Pay Ratio

Treasury’s Proxy Voting Database

Treasury actively participates in corporate governance, exercising its voting rights at shareholder meetings to influence corporate policies and practices. During the 2024 proxy voting season, Treasury voted in 5,333 meetings on over 50,305 individual items.

To improve transparency and public awareness around our shareholder activity, in 2023, Treasury launched its proxy voting database website. Managed by Glass Lewis, the database is updated regularly to share timely and easy-to-access information regarding Treasury’s voting decisions.

2024 Key Proxy Voting Statistics

These voting statistics highlight Treasury’s commitment to addressing climate change, promoting board diversity, and advocating for sustainable business practices.

• Director Elections: Treasury voted against 11% (3,095) of director nominees due to environmental concerns.
• Compensation: Treasury voted against 36% (1,213) of compensation proposals due to ESG concerns.
• Shareholder Proposals: Treasury supported 90% (139) of environment-related shareholder proposals and 95% (110) of climate-related proposals.