D.C. may divest from companies with Iranian ties

A D.C. Council plan to divert about $36 million of its pension funds out of foreign corporations that do business with Iran has run into opposition from the office that oversees the city’s massive retirement portfolio.

Roughly 1 percent of the D.C. retirement fund’s $3.7 billion in assets is tied up in nearly 20 companies involved in the Iranian oil industry. Legislation offered by at-large Councilman David Catania would require divestiture from companies with at least $20 million invested in the Iranian petroleum sector.