To The Editor:
In an opinion piece published by the Hartford Business Journal on July 30, D. Dowd Muska of the Yankee Institute suggests that as state Treasurer I am part of a left-wing conspiracy that aims to undermine the capital markets. Muska presumes that as the principal fiduciary for the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, if I assert our rights as shareholders in a company, the walls of capitalism will come tumbling down.
The view that “owners of capital” should not at all be involved in governance issues of corporations, or that boards of directors should be left alone, is to ignore our state’s investment regulations and policies, let alone fiduciary law and recent history. How many Enrons and WorldComs do we need to convince Muska and his ilk that the beneficiaries of pension funds like Connecticut’s, in fact, depend upon our diligence and our willingness to engage the companies in which we invest?
My motivation to be an active and engaged shareholder is based on only one ideology: the bottom line. When I get involved in questioning excessive executive compensation or whether a corporation is prepared to respond to climate change, it is with the view that companies that act responsibly will produce greater shareholder value over the long term.
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Denise Nappier
Treasurer
State of Connecticut
