Candidates target Iranian holdings
Two California gubernatorial candidates are pushing insurers and the state’s two major pension funds to sell more than $6 billion worth of holdings in companies doing business in Iran.
Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is expected Wednesday to ask hundreds of state-licensed insurance companies to pull money out of 50 foreign-owned corporations he said are involved in Iran’s nuclear, military and energy sectors.
On Monday, Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown called on the nation’s two largest public pension funds, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, to “honor the state law” requiring them to divest from companies involved with Iran.
The U.S. government has designated Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Poizner, one of two Republicans running in the June primary, said he’s using his regulatory power to make sure that insurers do not make risky investments.
“The deteriorating situation in Iran only underscores the need to take action to ensure that insurance company portfolios are not at risk from Iran-related holdings,” he said.
Brown, a still-undeclared Democrat expected to run for the job he held 30 years ago, urged the pension funds to “show some leadership and stop supporting companies that do business with a tyrannical regime.”
Poizner’s list includes major international corporations such as oil giant Royal Dutch Shell of Britain, electronics maker Siemens of Germany, Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea and energy producer Alstom of France.
About 340 California-licensed insurers hold investments in companies that operate in sensitive areas of the Iranian economy. But those holdings are relatively small, accounting for about one-eighth of 1% of the value of their $4-trillion portfolios.
To encourage divestment, Poizner is informing insurance companies that they won’t be able to count the value of their indirect Iranian investments on financial statements submitted to regulators.
Insurance industry officials said they already are complying with federal restrictions on Iranian investments and will take a close look at any new California divestment rules.
“We’re following the law,” said Sam Sorich, president of the Assn. of California Insurance Cos.
Spokesmen for the pension funds also said they are following state law but must make sure that stocks are not sold too quickly at a loss.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
