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The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) today announced that Board Member Priya Sara Mathur will join the 16-member Advisory Council of the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment Initiative (PRI), an investors’ network formed in 2006 to advance sound environmental, social and governance practices.
Mathur was elected by PRI asset-owner signatories and is one of two asset-owner candidates to join the Advisory Council, PRI’s strategic governing body in 2011.
“We are confident that Priya will do an excellent job representing large, diversified institutional investors like ourselves and advancing principles that further environmental, social and governance practices that enhance earnings and long-term economic sustainability,” said Rob Feckner, President of the CalPERS Board.
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 Health Benefits Committee, Vice-Chair of the Risk Management Committee, and a member of the Investment and other committees.
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 as many as 20 representatives from 12 countries. Today, PRI is a network of international investors representing approximately $25 trillion (U.S.) in assets. PRI signatories work toward integrating six principles into decision-making and ownership practices.
“It will be an honor to represent institutional investors on this important governing body and I want to thank the PRI asset owners for their vote of confidence,” said Mathur. “I share the passion of the CalPERS Board and PRI asset owner signatories to champion adoption of the Principles on a global scale.”
CalPERS is the nation’s largest public pension fund with approximately $236 billion in market assets. It administers retirement benefits for 1.6 million active and retired State, public school, and local public agency employees and their families and health benefits for more than 1.3 million members. The average CalPERS pension is $2,220 per month. For more information about CalPERS, visit www.calpers.ca.gov.
