A tension-raising list of questions.
"Corporate governance in the United States is going through a major transformation," says Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Teachers Insurance Annuity Association and College Retirement Equities Fund. TIAA-CREF is the largest pension fund in the country, with an asset base of $100 billion....

The great train robbery; how the railroad retirement system swindles taxpayers, robs younger workers, and derails Amtrak.
The Great Train Robbery In America, the railroads have often been first: the nation's first $1 billion industry and the first way to get from New York to San Francisco without a horse. While many don't realize it, the railroads also led the way for a great liberal...

The shareholders' green focus.
The Shareholders' Green Focus The involvement of shareholders in substantive corporate governance issues like those raised by environmental concerns is a significant step forward in the long-delayed development of management accountability to shareholders. This accountability, long a theoretical justification for the corporate model, is now made possible by...

The age of alignment.
The Age Of Alignment The 1980s was an age of turmoil - of tearing companies apart. The 1990s will be an age of alignment - of putting companies back together again. Only this time, to compete in the tempest of accelerating change, organizations must be aligned as never...

The shareholder advisory committee.
The Shareholder Advisory Committee Who owns GM? What about IBM? Xerox? The chances are that, with any given major U.S. company, the answer to this ownership question is found in two words, two words that are creating shockwaves throughout Corporate America - "Institutional Investors." The emergence of institutions...

Wealth: top tax shelters for 1991.
WEALTH Top tax shelters for 1991 The tax bills of 1986 and 1990 made it more and more difficult to shelter income and avoid higher taxes. But there are four tax shelters that still offer excellent protection. SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES A single-family home is still...

Shareholders press environmental issues.
A 10-point environmental code known as the Valdez Principles has once again captured the limelight at many of this year's annual meetings. The environmental took center stage at many of this year's annual meetings with shareholders. Global warming, ozone depletion, and the plight of the rain forests...

Staff education funds termed safe: money held in trust, lawyers say.
A General Synod benefit fund that reimburses clergy and lay employees for educational costs is not vulnerable to residential schools litigation, according to legal opinions obtained by the pension committee, which administers the fund. Called the Continuing Education Plan, the 30-year-old fund disbursed $732,000 from January to...

Do you understand your pension fund?
Are you involved in a Registered Pension Plan with your employer? If you are you need to be sure you understand your protection in the event of company or fund bankruptcy or insolvency. If the company your pension money is invested in is a federally registered life...

(Anglican) Church has few shares in Bre-X.
In case you were wondering, the Anglican Church of Canada does have holdings in the ill-fated Bre-X stock. But the amount was so minuscule that the church will not feel the loss. General Synod's Consolidated Trust Fund owned 1,400 shares worth less than $6,000 -- a tiny...