California State Treasurer
As Treasurer, Angelides was an ex-officio member of the boards of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), which are the nation’s first and third largest public pension funds. He had been a leader in the corporate reform movement and had advocated for investment in socially and environmentally conscious businesses and for businesses with increased standards of financial disclosure. For example, in April 2006 CalSTRS board members unanimously supported Angelides’ motion to divest from Sudan to pressure an end to the government backed Genocide in Sudan. His Green Wave Initiative invested $950,000,000 into environmental businesses and technologies and his Double Bottom Line Initiative invested 14 billion dollars into inner-city and underserved communities. In 2003, the CalPERS investment committee approved of Angelides' Investment Protection Standards, which require that investment banking firms who do business with CalPERS separate their research and investment banking practices. New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer complimented Angelides' plan saying, "I applaud Treasurer Angelides for his actions. Today’s announcement is an important first step in ensuring that these reforms become the new market standard." Angelides, along with 10 other state treasurers and controllers, has also called on the SEC to approve a rule giving shareholders the right to nominate candidates for corporate boards of directors.
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