SEC Petitioned to Require Companies to Disclose Risk of Global Warming Regulation; Free Enterprise Action Fund (Ticker: FEAOX) Says Companies Risk Earnings While Keeping Shareholders in the Dark
For more info contact: Steve Milloy, 301-258-2852, steve@feafund.com
Washington DC, October 30, 2007 - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should take immediate steps to require publicly-owned corporations to reveal the potential harm caused by global warming regulations on earnings and shareholder value, says the Free Enterprise Action Fund (Ticker: FEAOX), a publicly-traded mutual fund.
“Many corporations supporting greenhouse gas regulations have failed to warn shareholders about the ongoing and future harmful consequences these regulations pose to future earnings,” said Steve Milloy, a FEAOX portfolio manager.
Surprisingly, only five of the twenty-one members of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a lobbying group supporting global warming regulation and cap-and-trade schemes, have disclosed in their annual SEC filings that limits on greenhouse gas emissions pose a business risk.
Efforts to limit greenhouse gases at the state and local level already unequivocally demonstrate these regulations are a legitimate business risk to USCAP members:
- General Electric is fighting federal and state legislative efforts to ban the incandescent light bulbs – a GE product and invention of Thomas Edison the company’s founder. Government officials want to require consumers to purchase only the more energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). Shareholders are also threatened by efforts to ban coal-fired power plants. GE supplies steam turbines for these power plants.
- PepsiCo is facing bans on bottled water. Critics complain the production and transportation of bottled water wastes energy and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. San Francisco city agencies no longer purchase bottled water because of global warming concerns.
“USCAP members must inform shareholders about legitimate risks to their business,” said Milloy. “Failure to disclose exposes these companies to shareholder lawsuits – especially since greenhouse gas regulations are materially impacting these companies,” added Milloy.
USCAP membership is controversial and it has created conflict between businesses and their customers.
Caterpillar Inc., for example, is dealing with a boycott from a coal industry customer because of company participation in USCAP. A government study reported that cap-and-trade regulations would cause a 40 percent reduction in coal production. According to the Caterpillar CEO, the decision to join USCAP was not based on an economic assessment of the costs and benefits of the regulations to the company.
“Shareholders have a right to know that Caterpillar may face a backlash from other coal companies and energy intensive companies, like the steel industry, whose businesses will be ruined by cap-and-trade regulations,” said the FEAOX’s Tom Borelli. “If the boycott picks up momentum, Caterpillar could easily be facing shareholder lawsuits. Making matters worse, the CEO did not exercise basic due-diligence in deciding to support regulations - negligence is a powerful argument for trial lawyers,” added Borelli.
Non-USCAP members should disclose the impact of global warming regulations to their shareholders. Wal-Mart, for example, is the largest private user of electricity and its trucks travel an estimated 1 billion miles every year.
“High-energy prices – a direct consequence of global warming regulations – would dramatically increase Wal-Mart’s operating costs and hurt consumer spending,” said Borelli. “Shareholders should be alerted to the fact that global warming regulations will potentially devastate Wal-Mart’s future earnings,” Borelli added.
| As of 9-30-07 | As of 6-30-06 | |
| One Month | 3.49% | (1.64%) |
| Three Months | 1.67% | 5.75% |
| Year-to-date | 7.71% | 5.93% |
| Annualized, Since Inception (3-1-05) | 8.07% | 8.21% |
| Annualized, 1-year | 13.10% | 15.87% |
Past performance does not guarantee future results. The performance data quoted represents past performance and current returns may be lower or higher. The investment return and net asset value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. To obtain performance information current to the most recent month end, visit http://www.feaox.com or call 1-800-766-3960.
Performance represents share value at NAV, which includes a gross expense ratio of 5.79% (as of 12-31-06). These total return figures reflect the contractual waiver of a portion of the Fund's advisory fees for the period ending 12-31-06. Without such a waiver of fees, the total returns would have been lower. The net expenses paid by investors (after the contractual waiver) for the period ending 12-31-06 is 1.82%. Net expenses are currently capped at 1.75%. The advisory fee waiver will remain in effect until gross expense ratio declines to below the net expense ratio.
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The Free Enterprise Action Fund is advised by Action Fund Management, LLC., which receives a fee for its services, and is distributed by BISYS Fund Services Limited Partnership, which is not affiliated with Action Fund Management, LLC.
