Corporate Governance in the Information Age

William D. Crist, former President
CalPERS Board of Administration

Welcome to the CalPERS Shareowner Forum – your online resource to information in today's corporate governance arena.

The intersection of the capital markets and the new electronic information age has transcended most levels of communication. In the corporate world, the swift flow of reliable information has made communication with investors easier than ever before. As a result, we will have many new opportunities to improve the lines of communication between investors and corporations.

During the last decade we have learned that good corporate governance leads to improved long-term corporate performance. CalPERS strongly believes that good governance requires the attention and dedication not only of a company's officers and directors, but also its owners. CalPERS is not simply a passive holder of stock. We are a shareowner, and take seriously the responsibility that comes with company ownership.

We have also learned that the task of upholding the integrity of our entire corporate system begins with openness, accountability and good communication. When this system lives up to these high standards it inspires public confidence that the marketplace is sound. Maintaining the integrity of our system is not only the mandate of boards and management, but shareowners as well -- and it is a fundamental part of CalPERS mission.

CalPERS Shareowner Forum has been designed to advance CalPERS own accountability, openness, and communication to all our audiences – to the beneficiaries we serve; to the corporations in which we invest; and to other investors who, like CalPERS, depend on efficient markets. We hope it will be a forum for dialogue and the continuing evolution of corporate governance.

The site features CalPERS criteria for selecting its corporate governance focus companies. It provides a compendium of over 14,000 abstracts of interdisciplinary studies, essays, reports and papers on global issues, trends and views on the history and continuing development of corporate governance and related topics. And for the first time, visitors can instantly access our record on proxy votes in time for the company's annual meeting. Votes on Walt Disney, Hewlett Packard and Lucent Technologies are already online.

CalPERS Shareowner Forum also offers CalPERS opinions on some of today's developing trends and issues in the corporate governance arena. It provides access to the full text of CalPERS U.S. and international corporate governance principles and guidelines, and it offers breaking news on CalPERS market statements and proxy efforts. Our hope is that this information will spark continuing debate and dialogue, and will help corporate directors and management identify both sources of market support and sources of market concern.

For our members, this site exemplifies our duty as fiduciaries. At CalPERS we remain focused on prudent management of our portfolio. We are under considerable and constant pressure to increase returns by pursuing every responsible strategy to increase the value of companies in which we invest. As fiduciaries, we use corporate governance activism to improve performance of our portfolio.

Our web site will evolve. In the coming months, we will be surveying the companies in our international equity portfolio about their preparations and state of readiness for the Year 2000, and will post these results on this site. We will release our well-known list of America's underperforming companies and provide updates on our discussions and progress with each. We will continue to post our proxy votes for some of America's largest companies.

Through CalPERS Shareowner Forum we hope to share our experience, knowledge and views about corporate governance globally and help build corporate governance systems that focus on maximizing long-term shareowner value.

We welcome your ideas to improve the site. Let us know what you think by signing our Guest Book.