Stanford Getting Rid of $18 Billion Endowment of Coal Stock 208
mdsolar sends this report from the NY Times:
"Stanford University announced Tuesday that it would divest its $18.7 billion endowment of stock in coal-mining companies, becoming the first major university to lend support to a nationwide campaign to purge endowments and pension funds of fossil fuel investments. The university said it acted in accordance with internal guidelines that allow its trustees to consider whether 'corporate policies or practices create substantial social injury' when choosing investments. Coal's status as a major source of carbon pollution linked to climate change persuaded the trustees to remove companies 'whose principal business is coal' from their investment portfolio, the university said."
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Activist investors (Score:4, Informative)
That said, the only way to be 'whole' with what they are saying is 'reducing' their endowment by 18 billion dollars. I.e. donate the stock and give it away. If they simply sell it, then they still have the benefit of having been given it. One might call it laundered money from a social conscience point of view.
Re:Activist investors (Score:5, Informative)
Companies only get money from stock when they offer new shares (or sell those already in company reserves), by refusing to buy shares in these types of companies they are reducing the value of future offerings by becoming one less bidder for those shares.
Misleading headline (Score:5, Informative)
Stanford University has an $18 billion endowment, but only a fraction of that is invested in coal mining companies. They're not just dumping $18 billion worth of stock.
Summary is WRONG (Score:5, Informative)
they are reducing the value of future offerings by becoming one less bidder for those shares.
Not by much, because the summary is WRONG. $18B is the value of their entire endowment. The fraction of that specifically invested in coal is a tiny fraction of that. If they are smart, they already divested, before making the announcement.
Re:Divest of Electrical Use Too? (Score:3, Informative)
Does this mean Standford will divest itself from the use of electricity too? Or is this just a hypocritical publicity stunt?
Stanford receives electricity from two sources -- Cardinal Cogen, an onsite natural gas cogeneration unit, and PG&E. Neither of which use coal.