Dutch pension firms flex their muscles against giant US pay deals

DutchNews.nl, Thursday 22 May 2014

Dutch pension funds are becoming increasingly active on Wall Street and are opposing the gigantic remuneration packages given to the bosses of some companies they invest in, the Financieele Dagblad says on Thursday.

The paper makes the claim after questioning officials at pension fund managers APG, MN, PGGM and PNO Media which have invested tens of billions of dollars in US firms.

'We are opting for a more critical standpoint than many other investors,' PGGM, which runs the Dutch health service pension fund, told the Financieele Dagblad. 'And you can see that in our voting behaviour.'

No votes

Last year, PGGM voted against 60% of the bonus proposals placed before it, the FD says. APG has done so in more than 50% of cases, including the deal offered Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison.

PGGM and APG's main objection to the huge share options given to US company bosses is that they are not based on performance, but on length of service.

US companies such as Oracle pay little attention to such shareholder criticism, the FD says.

However, opposition is growing. David Shammai, responsible for remuneration issues at civil service pension giant APG, says that 'resistence has led to companies more often engaging in discussion with their shareholders'.

Faryda Lindeman of pension asset manager MN told the paper there is progress. 'The US public and executives have been made more aware of the objections of large investors,' she said.

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