The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers) — the largest public pension in the U.S. — is seeking to change the policies of Apple and 57 other large companies that make up a portion of its nearly US$200 billion U.S. portfolio. It wants Apple to change it he way it handles board of director elections, according to “The Wall Street Journal” (http://macte.ch/bYNA5).
Members of the board can currently be re-elected by a single “yes” vote in uncontested elections. Calpsers wants Apple and other U.S. companies it invests in to adopt rules requiring directors to win a majority of the vote, saying that will make board members more accountable to shareholders, says the “Journal.”
Calpers said Apple resisted its request, so the pension fund submitted an advisory shareholder resolution to force the issue. The measure is set to come up for a vote at the iPhone maker’s annual meeting in February.