Forbes has a provocative piece on the movement to pull public pension money out of companies that do business with Iran. Trouble is, one of its key examples appears to be wrong.

Forbes leads with a discussion of StatoilHydro, a Norwegian oil and gas company that has a relatively small investment in Iran. After mentioning Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman’s campaign for terror-free investing, the article says:

… the $6 billion Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System has cut the Norwegians loose, divesting shares of companies doing any kind of business in Iran. 

Not so, says Gary Findlay, the MOSERS executive director. In an email, here’s how he responded to the Forbes piece:

Forbes jumped to the wrong conclusions without checking any facts.

Findlay didn’t want to talk about any specific stock. But, in general, MOSERS’ policy calls for a review of any company that shows up on an anti-terrorism watch list. The review would consider several factors, including whether the company’s activities abroad are supported by the U.S. government, and whether selling would “compromise the Board’s fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries of the System.”

In the past, Findlay has said that divestitures have been exceedingly rare. And Steelman has criticized the fund for not moving quickly enough on divestiture. MOSERS’ policy seems sensible, though, especially when you consider another figure from the Forbes story:

Divestments will, however, hurt U.S. taxpayers if Iran-tainted stocks are sold at depressed prices. Fund managers at Calstrs (the California teachers pension fund) predict that its substitute non-Iranian stocks will yield $200 million a year less in returns.