Pension Politics: Should States Be Investing in Controversial Companies?

Governing: Earlier this year, even before a gunman killed 12 patrons at a bar in Thousand Oaks, there was a groundswell of calls for California’s two largest pension funds to sell off their investments in gun retailers. But Jason Perez, a Southern California cop, balked. As a protest against “politically correct” investing, he decided to run for a seat on the California Public Employee Retirement System’s board of directors. And it wasn’t just any seat; it was the one held by CalPERS Board President Priya Mathur.

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