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The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) today announced that Board Member Priya Sara Mathur will join the Board of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Association, the fiduciary body responsible for the overall effectiveness, performance and conduct of the United Nations-backed PRI Initiative.
An investor-formed network, the Initiative was established in 2006 to advance sound environmental, social and governance practices. Appointment to the Board is made by a majority vote of the PRI Advisory Council, PRI’s strategic governing body. Mathur was elected to the Advisory Council by the PRI signatories in 2011.
“Priya has done an excellent job representing CalPERS and other institutional investors through her work on the PRI Advisory Council to advance principles that further environmental, social and governance practices,” said Rob Feckner, President of the CalPERS Board. “Her appointment as a member of the Board is a reflection of that work and the confidence her peers have in her ability to advocate for these principles.”
Mathur, a Principal Financial Analyst for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, has represented local public agency members on the CalPERS Board since 2003. She is the current Chair of the Board’s Pension & Health Benefits Committee, Vice Chair of the Risk & Audit Committee, and a member of the Investment and other committees.
“I’m honored to be elected to the Board and am excited to expand my work with PRI,” said Mathur. “As a member of the Advisory Council, I share the passion of the CalPERS Board and PRI partner signatories to champion adoption of the Principles on a global scale. I look forward to helping ensure the long-term stability and effectiveness of the PRI organization.”
In April 2006, Mathur represented CalPERS as one of the first signatories at the New York Stock Exchange groundbreaking for the PRI, which CalPERS helped develop with a UN Working Group involving 20 representatives from 12 countries. Today, PRI is a network of more than 1,000 international investors representing approximately $30 trillion (U.S.) in assets. PRI signatories work toward integrating six principles into decision-making and ownership practices.
CalPERS, with approximately $241 billion in assets, is the largest public pension fund in the U.S. It administers retirement benefits for more than 1.6 million active and retired California state, public school, and local public agency employees and their families on behalf of more than 3,000 public employers; and health benefits for more than 1.3 million enrollees. For more information about CalPERS, visit www.calpers.ca.gov.
