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In About Face, Top Mutual Funds Support Political Disclosure Resolutions in 2008 Proxy Season

Washington, D.C. -- In a sign of accelerating support from the institutional investor community, at least 13 mutual fund families switched their votes in 2008 to support shareholder resolutions calling on companies to disclose and require board oversight of their political spending with corporate funds, the Center for Political Accountability (CPA) announced today.

These funds opposed similar resolutions in 2007, according to data provided by Fund Votes, an independent project that tracks U.S. and Canadian mutual fund votes. For the past three proxy seasons, the CPA has reported on mutual fund votes on its political disclosure resolution.

"Increasing support from mutual funds, which are major owners of companies, suggests they believe political disclosure increases company value and is a corporate governance standard," said Bruce F. Freed, CPA's executive director. "That is a powerful endorsement of corporate political transparency and accountability."

The CPA worked with 26 partners in the socially responsible investment community to file 50 resolutions in 2008. The proposals, which received an average vote of 25 percent, asked companies to disclose their soft money donations and payments to trade associations and other tax-exempt groups used for political purposes.

Wells Fargo's suite of mutual funds was among those that voted against the resolution in 2007. In 2008, 10 of the funds switched their position and supported political disclosure proposals at 13 companies.

In other cases, mutual fund families including Goldman Sachs cast their first votes in support of the resolution in 2007 and threw more weight behind their support in 2008.  Nine Goldman Sachs funds that opposed the resolution in 2007 at AT&T, ConocoPhillips, JPMorgan Chase and/ or Wachovia voted in favor in 2008.

Joining Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs in strong support for political disclosure were American Century, Ameritas, Credit Suisse, ING, Legg Mason, MassMutual, Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer, Phoenix, Schroder and T Rowe Price.

Following are the CPA's findings gleaned from Fund Votes data:

• Fourteen American Century funds supported the resolution at Wal-Mart in 2008, after opposing it in 2007. The funds are Capital Growth, Capital Value, Equity Income, Equity Index, Growth, Large Company Value, NT Growth, NT Large Company Value, Strategic Allocation: Aggressive, Strategic Allocation: Conservative, Strategic Allocation: Moderate, Value, VP Large Company Value and VP Value.

• In 2008, Ameritas Index 500 Portfolio mutual fund voted for the proposal at 21 companies and opposed it at only one company. The previous year, it had a very different record. It opposed the resolution at 24 companies and only supported it at FedEx.  The fund switched its vote at AT&T, Charles Schwab, Citigroup, ConocoPhillips, Entergy, ExxonMobil, Halliburton, JPMorgan Chase, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Union Pacific, Wachovia, Wal-Mart and Wyeth.

• Ameritas Core Strategies Portfolio voted in favor of the resolution at ConocoPhillips in 2008, a change from 2007 when it voted in opposition. Ameritas Income & Growth Portfolio made a similar move at AT&T.

• Credit Suisse funds Blue Chip Portfolio, Large Cap Blend Fund and Large Cap Value Portfolio supported the resolution in 2008 at AT&T and JPMorgan Chase after opposing it in 2007.

• Similarly, several Goldman Sachs funds supported the resolution at AT&T and JPMorgan Chase in 2008 after opposing it in 2007. The funds are GS Balanced Fund, GS Growth and Income Fund, GS Large Cap Value Fund, GS Structured Large Cap Growth Fund, GS Structured Large Cap Value Fund, GS Structured U.S. Equity Fund, GS U.S. Equity Dividend and Premium Fund, GSVIT Growth and Income Fund and GSVIT Structured U.S. Equity Fund. Each of these funds switched votes at JPMorgan Chase and all but GS Structured Large Cap Growth Fund switched votes at AT&T. The fund did not have a vote at AT&T in 2008.

• GS Balanced Fund, GS Structured U.S. Equity Fund, GS U.S. Equity Dividend and Premium Fund and GSVIT Structured U.S. Equity Fund took an about face and supported political disclosure at ConocoPhillips in 2008.

• Wells Fargo Advantage Funds: Asset Allocation, Balanced, Capital Growth, Endeavor Large Cap, Equity Index, Growth, Large Company Core, Specialized Financial Service, U.S. Value and Value switched votes to support the resolution at 13 companies.  The companies are AT&T, Citigroup, ConocoPhillips, Entergy, ExxonMobil, Halliburton, JPMorgan Chase, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Charles Schwab, Union Pacific, Wachovia, Wal-Mart and Wyeth.

• Several funds switched last year's vote to support the resolution at Wachovia in 2008, including Credit Suisse Blue Chip, GS Growth and Income Fund, GS Large Cap Value Fund, GS U.S. Equity Dividend and Premium Fund and GSVIT Growth and Income Fund, Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund, MassMutual Premier Balanced Fund, MassMutual Premier Enhanced Index Core Equity Fund, MassMutual Premier Enhanced Index Value Fund, Phoenix Focused Value Fund, Schroder North America Equity Fund, T Rowe Price funds Balanced Fund, Equity Index 500 Fund, Equity Index 500 Portfolio and Total Equity Market Index Fund, Wells Fargo Advantage Specialized Financial Services Fund and Wells Fargo Advantage U.S. Value Fund.

• Eleven Morgan Stanley mutual funds uniformly voted against the resolution in 2007, but supported it in 2008 at companies including AT&T, CVS Caremark, Halliburton, Union Pacific and Wal-Mart. The funds are Dividend Growth Securities, Equally-Weighted S&P 500 Fund, Fundamental Value Fund,Institutional Fund Trust Value Portfolio, Select Dimension Investment Series Dividend Growth Portfolio,Select Dimension Investment Series Equally-Weighted S&P 500 Portfolio, Variable Investment Series Dividend Growth Portfolio,Variable Investment Series Global Dividend Growth Portfolio,Variable Investment Series Income Builder Portfolio, Variable Investment Series Strategist Portfolio and Variable Investment Series Utilities Portfolio.

• Oppenheimer Main Street Fund voted for the resolution at Citigroup in 2008, after abstaining on it in 2007 and opposing it in 2005 and 2004.

Founded in November 2003, the Center for Political Accountability is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy group that is leading a shareholder effort to bring transparency and accountability to corporate political spending. To date, more than 52 leading public companies, including one third in the S&P 100, have agreed to disclose and require board oversight of their spending.

Website: http://www.politicalaccountability.net/.

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Press Contact: Bruce F. Freed, phone: 301-233-3621, bffreed@politicalaccountability.net