Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming, M.D., is expressing his serious concerns about the efforts of leftwing activists to disrupt the upcoming Exxon shareholder meeting and attempt to wrest control of the company from the current leadership.
Here is the letter he sent today to the board members of the Louisiana state retirement systems:
“As your Treasurer of the State of Louisiana, I would like to share with you my grave concerns about the upcoming Exxon shareholder meeting. CalPERS [California Public Employees' Retirement System] , the largest public pension fund in the United States, announced it will vote against all Exxon directors at the company’s shareholder meeting on May 29, 2024.
Exxon is the largest manufacturing employer in Louisiana, employing over 6,000 employees and contractors statewide. With an annual payroll of $414 million, Exxon pays more than $145 million in state income taxes generating significant revenues to support the operations of the state government.
Typically, shareholders only vote against sitting directors when a company is performing poorly, and investors are losing money. However, Exxon has provided shareholders with healthy returns for years and is positioned to do so for years to come.
While shareholder activism can be a force for positive change, it must be geared towards maximizing shareholder returns, not destroying the target company for political purposes. If CalPERS and other activists are successful in disrupting Exxon’s shareholder meeting, it will set a dangerous precedent that will threaten the stability of our financial markets and the very sources of revenue that fund state government directly impacting future retirees.
While it is unfortunate Exxon must continually deal with political shareholders who attack their core business and are not interested in the future growth of the company, those who have the most to lose are the retirees, including those in Louisiana. Retirees rely on a board to make sound financial investment decisions resulting in high yields. Those yields in turn generate significant tax revenues for the state in which they operate.
Today, as a Board member, I am asking you to vote against the CalPERS proposal and to please share my request with the commingled funds who have an investment in Exxon.”
According to CalPERS President, Board of administration, Theresa Taylor, ExxonMobil was strongly advised to drop their anti-shareholder lawsuit currently circulating a Texas Federal Court. As the company's allegations of both shareholders in question and the existing regulatory process for relief don't seem to line up.
In a Letter from CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost and Board President Theresa Taylor to members of The California Public Employees' Retirement System the CalPERS executives state, "When you own shares of stock in a publicly traded company, you have a vested interest in how that company is run and whether its leaders are doing all they can to ensure lasting financial success. You have a right to have your concerns heard by corporate directors and executives. They work for you."
In response to the recent actions of ExxonMobil CalPERS executives go on to say, "If successful, the legal action could diminish the role—and the rights—of every investor in improving a company’s bottom line. That’s why CalPERS will cast our shareholder votes in opposition to all 12 members of ExxonMobil’s board of directors and its chief executive officer. We urge other ExxonMobil shareholders to do the same, to send a message that our voices will not be silenced."
The California Public Employees' Retirement System, a component of the California executive branch, oversees pension and health benefits for over 1.5 million California public employees, retirees, and their families.
Voting will take place May 29th, 2024 in Clearwater, Florida during the ExxonMobil annual Shareholder Meeting
