UN climate meeting promotes risky corporate climate schemes, says Free Enterprise Action Fund (Ticker: FEAOX); Mutual fund warns that corporate ¡®climateering¡¯ threatens shareholder and state retiree pension assets
For more info contact: Steve Milloy, 301-258-2852, steve@feafund.com
Washington DC, February 14, 2008 - Action Fund Management (AFM), advisor to the Free Enterprise Action Fund (Ticker: FEAOX), issued the following statement in response to The Investors Summit on Climate Risk at the United Nations:
Shareholders and state pensioners should be concerned about the UN summit that brings together nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), state treasurers, institutional investors, financial services companies and UN officials to discuss supposed investment opportunities presented by climate change.
CERES, an organization that pressures corporations to address climate change in their business strategies, organized the meeting. State treasurers and comptrollers from politically liberal states like California, New York, Massachusetts and Maryland will join representatives from Citigroup, Bank of America, Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs to promote climate change investment opportunities.
¡°It¡¯s ironic that companies like Citigroup and Bank of America ©¤ which lost billions of dollars due to poor risk management of their subprime loan portfolios ©¤ are now looking to risk shareholder assets in dubious climate change schemes,¡± observed AFM¡¯s Tom Borelli. ¡°If banks don¡¯t understand the risks associated with mortgages ¨C a basic component of their businesses ¨C how can they possible comprehend the risks may be associated with climate change which is much more complex,¡± Borelli asked.
¡°The Summit¡¯s agenda seems to be a one-sided view of climate change science and economics,¡± said Steve Milloy of AFM. ¡°Missing from the agenda is the dreadful experience of European countries trying and failing to implement the Kyoto Protocol and a discussion of the economic harm that could be caused by the Lieberman-Warner climate change legislation under consideration in the Senate,¡± Milloy noted.
¡°We believe many companies are failing to do adequate due diligence on climate change profiteering schemes,¡± said Borelli. ¡°We¡¯re concerned about what may happen when the global warming bubble they¡¯re creating bursts like the subprime bubble,¡± Borelli added.
¡°Moreover, since state treasurers have a fiduciary responsibility to manage the state¡¯s pension funds on sound economic principles without regard to political considerations, it¡¯s somewhat frightening to think that pension fund investments could be influenced by the information presented at the Climate Change Summit,¡± added Milloy.
By investing in the FEAOX (http://www.FEAOX.com), individuals can participate in the global warming debate while having an opportunity to earn a financial return through ownership of a large-cap mutual fund. With a minimum investment of $2,500, individuals can join FEAOX¡¯s effort to make CEOs justify their positions on global warming. FEAOX is available exclusively through Foreside Distribution Services L.P., (applications may be obtained at http://www.FEAOX.com/how.html), and through E*Trade Financial, Scottrade, TD Ameritrade and HSBC.
An investor should consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing or sending money. This and other important information about the Free Enterprise Action Fund can be found in the fund's prospectus. To obtain a prospectus, please call 1-800-766-3960 or visit http://www.FEAOX.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.
Mutual fund investing involves risk, including loss of principal. The Free Enterprise Action Fund is advised by Action Fund Management, LLC, which receives a fee for its services, and is distributed by Foreside Distribution Services, L.P., which is not affiliated with Action Fund Management, LLC.
References:
- See Lehman¡¯s ¡°The Business of Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities,¡± p.6 (February 2007).
- See e.g., U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, ¡°Inhofe Says NAS Report Reaffirms ¡®Hockey Stick¡¯ Is Broken¡± (June 22, 2006), http://epw.senate.gov/pressitem.cfm?id=257697&party=rep.
- Kasky v. Nike, Inc., 27 Cal.4th 939, 947, 45 P.3d 243, 248, 119 Cal.Rptr.2d 296, 302 (Cal. 2002)
