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Investors press firms on donations as political spending jumps

One focus is on lawmakers who opposed certifying 2020 election results

Democratic state treasurers and social issue-focused investment funds are pressing 82 corporations to be transparent about donations to candidates and causes as contributions resume after a pause in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

More than 125 groups managing over $1.5 trillion in invested assets recently wrote to board members who oversee political spending at some of the largest U.S. public companies, including Walmart, Amazon and Exxon Mobil Corp., urging more disclosure of political spending. The message comes as shareholder proposals on the issue are gaining momentum and as spending by corporate political action committees picks up.

“We are facing an existential threat to the election system in the U.S. which poses substantial systemic risk to long-term investors’ portfolios,” the investors said in the June 16 letter led by the Service Employees International Union, a labor group that frequently presses companies through stock holdings, and Majority Action, a nonprofit that coordinates shareholder campaigns on environmental, social and governance issues. Continue reading.

Categories: National Issues
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