6.19.2003 ET

(CSRwire) BETHESDA, MD - Calvert, the nation’s largest family of socially responsible mutual funds, announced today that it has adopted revised Proxy Voting Guidelines that integrate corporate governance and corporate social responsibility into what Calvert calls a “sustainable governance” model that it is recommending to other mutual fund companies. The guidelines are available at www.calvert.com/pdf/proxy_voting_guidelines_new.pdf. Although Calvert has for several years cast its proxies according to detailed voting guidelines – and has publicly disclosed its votes – the new Guidelines are the first Calvert has issued since the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new rules requiring all mutual funds to disclose their proxy voting practices and policies, as well as their actual proxy votes.

“At Calvert, we have long believed that healthy corporations are characterized both by sound corporate governance and overall corporate social responsibility, and that companies combining the two are best positioned for long-term success,” said Barbara J. Krumsiek, President & CEO, Calvert. “We’ve re-designed our Proxy Voting Guidelines to better promote and achieve this integration of good governance and social responsibility on the part of the companies we invest in on behalf of our shareholders.”

“In the aftermath of recent corporate scandals, it has become increasingly clear that well-governed, socially responsible companies are better positioned to deliver long-term, sustainable value to their shareholders,” continued Krumsiek. “Calvert’s Proxy Voting Guidelines provide a model that we encourage other mutual funds and institutional investors to adopt – using the proxy to encourage good governance and social responsibility on the part of corporations, which in turn will help restore investor confidence in markets.”

Calvert’s proxy voting guidelines, are designed to promote three important attributes of well-governed, socially responsible companies:

Sustainability. Calvert’s Proxy Voting Guidelines support sustainable governance that attends fairly to the long-term interests of shareowners and other stakeholders, including workers, customers, communities and the environment.

The Guidelines contain detailed proxy-voting policies on board elections, composition and governance; executive compensation and stock ownership; mergers, acquisitions and takeovers; workplace, environment, and human rights issues; product safety and impact; indigenous peoples’ rights; and community interactions.

Calvert’s new Proxy Voting Guidelines are part of a larger “Good Governance” initiative the firm has undertaken to promote healthier companies, stronger markets and improved opportunities for investors. This includes fully integrating governance guidelines into Calvert’s investment analysis, encouraging open and honest reporting by companies, advocating for greater board diversity and promoting high standards of corporate ethics and other “sustainable governance” practices that align the long-term interests of management, shareholders and other stakeholders, and can be reviewed at www.calvert.com/goodgov.html.

“For mutual funds and other institutional investors, proxy voting is the most basic and direct form of participation in corporate governance, and the SEC has now clarified that proxy voting is a fiduciary duty of fund managers, who must adopt proxy voting policies and disclose their votes,” explains Krumsiek. “We hope Calvert’s revised Guidelines will be of use to other mutual funds, many of whom will be adopting and disclosing their proxy-voting policies for the first time. By fully integrating corporate governance and corporate social responsibility, we believe mutual funds can positively influence corporate behavior in a way that creates long-term value for their shareholders. ”

Calvert is the nation's largest socially responsible mutual fund firm with approximately $9.0 billion in assets under management. Calvert offers twenty eight funds that allow individual and institutional investors to pursue a broad range of investment objectives within a single fund family. Calvert launched the Calvert Social IndexÔ a benchmark for measuring the performance of large, U.S.-based socially responsible companies. Calvert also has an extensive lineup of tax-free and taxable fixed income investments. For more information on Calvert, click on www.calvert.com.

Calvert mutual funds are underwritten and distributed by Calvert Distributors Inc., member NASD, a subsidiary of Calvert Group. (6/03, 4427)

For more information please contact:

Melinda Lovins , Calvert
+1-301-657-7089

Elizabeth Laurienzo , Calvert
+1-301-657-7047

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