April 07, 2011|By Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff

Two orders of Boston-area nuns are among a small group of investors taking Goldman Sachs to task on executive compensation.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston and the Boston province of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur are two of four orders nationally that have signed onto a shareholder proposal asking the investment banking and securities titan to review the salaries of top executives and consider whether they are excessive and should be modified.

Sister Joanne Gallagher of the Sisters of St. Joseph said the filing comports with the order’s policy of promoting “justice, peace, and systemic change’’ in its investment activities.

The 2008 financial crisis provoked considerable public outrage about the compensation of top Wall Street executives and raised questions about their companies’ roles in creating the financial conditions that led to the meltdown. Last year, Goldman’s top five executives received compensation worth a total of almost $70 million.

The proposal, which will be considered at Goldman’s annual shareholders’ meeting on May 6, also asks the company to consider how layoffs and salary levels of low-wage workers affect the salaries of executives and how fluctuations in revenue affect the compensation pool, top-paid workers, and shareholders.

Shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a similar proposal last year.

Goldman opposes the filing. In its proxy statement, the company said shareholders “already have access to the information necessary to understand and assess the compensation decisions made with respect to our senior executives.’’ It added that generating the reports the filers seek would be a distraction to the firm’s compensation board.

Two other orders of Catholic nuns and Daniel Altschuler, an independent investor who is a fellow at Amherst College, have also joined the proposal. The effort was led by the Nathan Cummings Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit with a $400 million endowment that funds arts, culture, environmentalism, Jewish life, and other programs and uses its position as an institutional investor to encourage responsible corporate behavior.

All are associated with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, whose 300 or so members use their status as investors to promote environmental responsibility, social justice, and sound corporate governance, including ending what it deems excessive executive pay.

Shareholder pressure can be effective. Goldman was among 100 or so companies asked by pension funds, trade unions, investment managers, and faith-based investors to give shareholders an opportunity to vote on the compensation of top executives. Goldman ultimately agreed; later, the so-called “say on pay’’ provision became part of the financial overhaul package passed by Congress.

Timothy Smith, senior vice president of Walden Asset Management, oversees the investment portfolios of the Sisters of St. Joseph and Notre Dame de Namur, as well as Altschuler. He said both orders own fewer than 100 shares of Goldman stock.

He said that even if the proposal does not pass, it has gotten Goldman’s attention. “The votes may not be large, but we believe this resolution and others are pushing the executive compensation committee to take those issues seriously,’’ he said.

Lisa Wangsness can be reached at lwangsness@globe.com.

 

Shareholders of home builder D.R. Horton voted down a call to adopt greenhouse gas reduction goals.

The Nathan Cummings Foundation, which holds 500 shares of Horton stock, proposed that the board of directors adopt quantitative goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from products and operations, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram said.

 

The foundation proposed that the goals be based on available technologies for reducing emissions, and that the board report back to shareholders by the end of the year on its plans for meeting the targets.

 

“Over the last few years, a number of D.R. Horton’s competitors have made a lot of progress on this front,” said Bill Maxwell, representing the Cummings Foundation. “D.R. Horton’s board seems to think that consumers will not necessarily pay for more energy-efficient homes, but the foundation would like to point out that energy-efficient homes do not have to be more expensive and that many companies actually see the energy efficiencies of their homes as a big selling point.”

 

But the board of directors unanimously recommended that shareholders reject the proposal, and it was supported by under a quarter of voting shares.

 

The company said it recognizes the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and that it uses energy-efficient products and practices in the homes it builds. One of its most important environmental initiatives is its use of Energy Star-approved vendors, the company said.

 

Horton has reported a $245.1 million profit in fiscal year 2010, which ended Sept. 30, the Star-Telegram said. It was the company’s first annual profit since 2006, the peak of the residential market. Horton’s shares (ticker: DHI) closed up 0.5 percent at $12.91 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, the day of the vote.

 

In a sustainability ranking of the country’s top ten publicly traded home builders by Calvert Investments, D.R. Horton ranked sixth. The average score was just 15 out of 100.

Read the original article here.

Shareholders of Fort Worth-based D.R. Horton on Thursday defeated a proposal asking its board to adopt goals for reducing greenhouse gases emitted by products used in its new homes as well as its building practices.  The proposal was made by the New York-based Nathan Cummings Foundation, which holds 500 shares of Horton stock.

 

"Over the last few years, a number of D.R. Horton's competitors have made a lot of progress on this front," said Bill Maxwell of Dallas, who was representing the Cummings Foundation at Horton's annual meeting in Fort Worth. "D.R. Horton's board seems to think that consumers will not necessarily pay for more energy-efficient homes, but the foundation would like to point out that energy-efficient homes do not have to be more expensive and that many companies actually see the energy efficiencies of their homes as a big selling point," he said.

 

The proposal was supported by just under 25 percent of the voting shares.  In its proxy, Horton asked shareholders to vote against the proposal, saying that the company already recognizes the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and that it uses many energy-efficient products and practices, such as participating in the Department of Energy's Energy Star program.

 

Horton previously reported a $245.1 million profit in fiscal 2010, which ended Sept. 30.  It was its first annual profit since 2006, the peak of the residential market.

 

Horton Chairman Donald Horton said Thursday that unemployment needs to come down and consumer confidence improve before the housing market can recover.  "If we want to have a strong housing market, that's the biggest thing we need," Horton said.

 

Horton's shares (ticker: DHI) closed up 0.5 percent at $12.91 in trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.  They're up 8 percent for the year but remain far below the $40-plus levels seen in January 2006.

Read the original article here.

The Nathan Cummings Foundation (NCF) is currently in the process of submitting shareholder proposals to be voted on during 2010. The Foundation’s main areas of focus within its shareholder activities work for 2010 will include climate change, political contributions and executive compensation. Resolutions for 2010 have already been filed with Goldman Sachs (pay disparity), Lennar Corporation (climate change) and the Ryland Group (climate change). For more information on NCF’s shareholder activities work, please see our website (www.nathancummings.org/shareholders/).