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PRESS RELEASEOffice of Missouri State
Treasurer |
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PRESS RELEASEOffice of Missouri State
Treasurer |
JEFFERSON CITY – State Treasurer Sarah Steelman and the Board of Trustees of the Missouri Investment Trust today enacted a policy to screen investments of the Trust’s $22 million portfolio to ensure investments are not placed with companies or countries that sponsor or support terrorist activities.
“This policy will put in place strong safeguards to screen investments by the Missouri Investment Trust to ensure they are never placed in companies that sponsor or support terrorism,” Steelman said. “With this new policy, we reduce the global security risk that terrorism poses to investment portfolios and ensure our dollars are not financing our enemies in the war on terror.”
The policy prohibits investments in companies that are known to sponsor terrorism or aid the government in countries known to sponsor terrorism. The policy directs MIT to implement an anti-terrorism screening process. Once the screening process is in place, the policy prohibits MIT from holding any investments identified through the process as linked to terrorism. Those investments are to be replaced with comparable investments that are cleared by the screen.
The board also voted to authorize a request-for-proposal for selection of a large-cap developed-country international fund containing only investments that are pre screened against any ties to terrorist groups or sanctioned nations.
“I will keep fighting to make sure that Missouri’s public funds are not placed in companies that aid or support terrorist activities,” Steelman said. “
The Missouri Investment Trust is an equities portfolio created by the General Assembly for the long-term investment of certain funds held on behalf of libraries, arts and humanities programs in Missouri.
Previously, Steelman made changes in the investment policies of the $3 billion portfolio her office invests for the state to ensure those investments are not placed in companies or countries that sanction terrorist activities. This included removing Paribas Capital from the state’s preferred broker-dealer list for repurchase agreements. The change was made because Paribas’ parent company, French bank BNP, was the sole financier of the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal. BNP also was working to raise $60 billion in commercial loans for government projects in Iran, a country sanctioned by the U. S. as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Steelman also won approval for a new terrorism screening policy for pension funds invested by the Missouri State Employees Retirement System. The MOSERS policy, currently being implemented, requires screening of investments in MOSERS’ $6 billion portfolio and prohibits investments in companies linked to terrorist activities or government projects in countries that sanction terrorism.
“I am pleased that we have been able to develop and are now implementing some of the nation’s strongest policies to protect our citizens and their dollars against risks related to terrorism,” Steelman said. “In this way, we ensure these investments – as well as the lives of our soldiers – are not placed at risk by the investments we make with public funds.”