BlackRock loses a billion dollars in funds for its political positions…
Several US states governed by republicans are withdrawing state funds from BlackRock's management, to show their opposition to ESG investment policies, i.e. ecologically and socially activist, and to the politically active position of the management company, as reported by the Financial Times.
In recent weeks, Louisiana, South Carolina, Utah and Arkansas have announced plans to divest funds totaling more than $ 1 billion from BlackRock.
Last week, Louisiana State Treasurer John Schroder announced in a letter to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink that he would divest all Treasury funds from BlackRock. Louisiana has removed $ 560 million to date and will withdraw a total of $ 794 million by the end of the year, Schroder noted.
"This divestment is necessary to protect Louisiana from BlackRock's positions that would cripple our critical energy sector," said Schroder. "I refuse to spend a cent of the Treasury funds on a company that will take food off the tables, money out of pockets and jobs for Louisiana workers."
South Carolina will withdraw $ 200 million from BlackRock by the end of the year, state treasurer Curtis Loftis said in an interview with the FT.
For months, Republican states have declared that they no longer want to do business with asset managers who have investment policies aligned with ESG principles, which, according to the states, show that those financial companies are boycotting the oil and gas industry.
Texas, the largest oil producing state in America, is leading the campaign against this movement. Lone Star State released in August a list of financial companies that may be banned from doing business with Texas, its state pension funds, and local governments.
Texas and other Republican-led oil and gas states see the trend in ESG investment as an implicit attack on fossil fuels and a boycott of conventional energy resources, whose revenues make up a substantial portion of state budgets in oil countries, gas and coal.
In early August, attorneys general from 19 states – including Texas, West Virginia, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, Idaho, and Ohio – sent a letter to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink expressing concern about the commitment. of the asset manager to reduce emissions to zero in all its assets.
"Instead of being a spectator betting on the match, BlackRock appears to have worn the quarterback jersey and been actively on the pitch," the attorneys general wrote. So the states cannot afford to finance a company which then takes an active stand directly against them, and they have decided to withdraw their funds. Another way to explain that business and politics should always remain well divided.
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The BlackRock article loses a billion dollars in funds for its political positions… comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/blackrock-perde-un-miliardo-di-dollari-in-fondi-per-le-sue-posizioni-politiche/ on Mon, 10 Oct 2022 15:02:57 +0000.