TIAA-CREF emerged as the first large U.S. fund firm to take up the banner of the anti-genocide investment cause, revealing on Monday that the firm sold stakes in four Asian oil companies alleged to have ties to the Sudanese government behind the Darfur genocide.TIAA-CREF sold shares totaling $58 million as of September 30 2009, in China's PetroChina Co Ltd, CNPC Hong Kong, Sinopec, and Oil and Natural Gas Corp of New Delhi (ONGC), according to Investors Against Genocide (IAG), a Boston-based activist organization. The company pushed through plans to divest after meetings with the target companies proved “insufficient.” TIAA-CREF also met with a fifth company, PETRONAS, but decided not to divest shares of the firm. “We have not divested from PETRONAS, which has acknowledged our concerns and engaged in dialogue about how it might address them,” stated Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., TIAA-CREF's chief executive.
“TIAA-CREF has recognized the unique importance of taking aggressive action in the face of genocide and crimes against humanity,” stated Eric Cohen, chairperson of Investors Against Genocide. “TIAA-CREF is the first large, mainstream financial services company to take a public stand supporting the overwhelming majority of Americans who do not want their savings and pension funds connected to genocide. TIAA-CREF's commitment to act sets a higher standard for the entire financial services industry.”
The company's new investment policy applies to the genocide in Darfur as well as future genocides. Maybe now that one of their own has broken ranks and divested from Sudan, the other large U.S. fund firms will follow suit.
We at Auburn Mountain salute TIAA-CREF.