Published by The Daily Journal.

March 15, 2013, 05:00 AM By Bill Silverfarb Daily Journal

Shareholders with Franklin Resources shot down a proposal from one of their own Wednesday that would have pulled funds out of companies that contribute to genocide.

Shareholder Armen Carapetian, chair of the Armenian National Committee of America San Francisco Bay Area chapter, presented the proposal at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in San Mateo Wednesday.

He requested “that the board institute transparent procedures to avoid holding or recommending investments in companies that, in management’s judgment, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity, the most egregious violations of human rights.”

Carapetian was accompanied by Rubina Karapetyan, an eighth grade student from KZV Armenian School in San Francisco. Rubina’s grandfather escaped the genocide waged by Ottoman Turkey in 1915, where 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children, including Rubina’s great-grandfather, were killed.

Only 8.7 percent of shareholders voted in favor of the proposal, however, as nearly 84 percent voted against it, according to IAG.

The proposal was the first shareholder proposal to appear on the company’s annual proxy ballot in 19 years, said Susan Morgan, IAG’s co-founder.

Morgan was not too discouraged by the “no” vote, however, as it was the first time shareholders even had a chance to consider such a proposal.

Franklin Resources is the parent company of Franklin Templeton Investments, with headquarters in San Mateo. The company’s board had recommended to shareholders to vote against the proposal, according to IAG.

Before the vote, Carapetian said: “Franklin Templeton’s recommendation against the proposal states that ‘fostering economic and business development through investment can often help in achieving reforms.’ In some cases, that statement would be correct. However, it is inappropriate and certainly does not apply to the genocidal regime in Sudan that has resisted international condemnation for 10 years and continues its genocide and crimes against humanity against its own people in Darfur and recently in the Nubu Mountains and Blue Nile states.”

Shareholders approved a similar genocide-free investing proposal at the ING Emerging Countries Fund in June 2012 with 59.2 percent of votes in favor of the proposal and only 10.8 percent opposed, according to IAG.

The ING board took a neutral position on the proposal which helped it succeed, according to IAG.

IAG is staffed by volunteers and is a project of the Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur Inc., a nonprofit agency.

For more information visit www.investorsagainstgenocide.net.

silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com
(650) 344-5200 ext. 106