CalSTRS responds regarding its investment in Palantir
On 1 May 2026, the Business and Human Rights Centre invited CalSTRS to respond to concerns that a company it is investing in, Palantir, is linked to various allegations of facilitating human rights abuse. Reportedly, Palantir is involved in “ICE activities, government monitoring, and contentious national security projects” that run contra to the fund's policies around civil liberties, human rights, and corporate governance. Palantir has responded to similar allegations, which can be found on its BHRC company page.
As stated in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights (UNGPs), investors have a responsibility to use their leverage to ensure that those with whom they have business relationships, including portfolio companies, respect human rights. CalSTRS responded, stating:
"Everything we do at CalSTRS is grounded in our mission to secure the financial future of California’s current and retired public school educators. We take a long-term view of investing to manage opportunities and risks across a global portfolio to ensure that we will provide benefits to our members now and in the future...We consistently follow our investment policies and over the last several years have voted against the Board of Palantir, in alignment with our Corporate Governance Principles. These votes reflect the board’s failure to adhere to basic governance standards including lack of sufficient board independence, the continued use of a multi-class share structure with no established sunset date, and other disclosure shortfalls."