The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock Inc., has lodged itself securely between a blue-state rock and a red-state hard place because of its environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) investment criteria.
While left-leaning states have long supported BlackRock’s ESG investing, conservative states increasingly object. In August, 19 red-state attorneys general sent BlackRock CEO Larry Fink a letter stating that BlackRock’s ESG investing violates their laws governing fiduciary duties. According to these AGs, investor returns must be a fiduciary’s sole focus, and BlackRock is sacrificing those returns to advance its “net-zero” carbon emissions agenda.
Photo credit: (David ‘Dee’ Delgado/Reuters)
