Administration January 9, 2008

Texas Funds' Sudan-linked Investments Relatively Small

January 9, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Texas state retirement funds for teachers and public employees have discovered that a small percentage of their holdings are invested in Sudan-linked companies.
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The Houston Chronicle reports the $114.8 billion Teacher Retirement System on Tuesday identified $62 million in six companies, and the $25 billion Employees Retirement System identified $3.5 million in one company. Identification of the investments is the first step the funds must take under a new state law (See Texas House Approves Sudan Divestment Bill ).

Although the percentage may be small, state Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston), author of the law, said “It is significant in terms of the impact that it may have on the discussion in Sudan and around the globe.”

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Last month Texas Teacher Retirement System trustees approved an Iran/Sudan-linked divestiture policy that calls for dropping investments only if “comparable investments offering similar quality, return and safety are available.” (See Texas Fund Divestiture Policy Includes Caveat )

The retirement systems identified their holdings after state Comptroller Susan Combs last week, as required by the law, identified companies with business operations in Sudan, according to the Houston Chroncile. She identified 27 companies, including a number of energy-related companies.

The next step under the law is for the pension funds to notify the companies that they may become subject to divestment and encourage them to cease any active operations in Sudan. The companies would have a chance to clarify their activities.

Benefits January 8, 2008

Boss Issues Top Reason Employees Consider Job Change

January 8, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A survey from Yahoo! HotJobs found almost three-quarters (72%) of respondents are open to a career change in 2008, with boss issues the top reason for considering a change.
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According to a Yahoo! press release, the majority of respondents (55%) agreed that “people don’t leave companies, they leave managers.” Forty-three percent of respondents cited dislike of their boss’s management style or lack of mentorship at their company as the reason they would be willing to change jobs.

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Salary (36%) and growth potential (34%) were also major considerations for respondents in deciding to look for a new career, the release said.

When asked which aspect of their job was most important for determining their happiness at work, 32% of respondents chose having a good boss or supervisor. In identifying their ideal manager, 70% of respondents said they prefer a hands-off boss who trusts them to do their job but is there when needed.

Almost half of respondents (43%) said they think they could do as good or a better job than their boss if they switched positions for a day.

The qualities respondents cited as being necessary to be a good boss (in order of importance) included:

  • Communication/listening skills,
  • Effective leadership skills,
  • Trust in their employees to do their job well,
  • Flexibility and understanding,
  • Intelligence,
  • Teamwork skills and even temperament (tie),
  • Interest in employee development,
  • Ability to share credit,
  • Successful in finding and retaining new talent, and
  • Presentation skills.

Data for the survey was collected from more than 1200 office professionals in the U.S. via an online survey questionnaire across the Yahoo! and HotJobs networks.

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