BlackRock Under Scrutiny from State AGs Over Ties to China
Edited by: TJVNews.com
Talk to any savvy investor and they will tell you that the latest trend in terms of where their money is going are investments that promote issues pertaining to governance, environmental, social issues.
It was recently reported in the NY Post that these ESG investments have come under scrutiny from a group of state attorneys general and the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock is the focus of this criticism for their aggressive push of these kind of investments.
Leading the group of nineteen state attorneys general is Arizona AG Mark Brnovich, according to the Post report. The Group of top lawyers penned a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission in which they requested that the agency launch an examination into connections that BlackRock has with China and whether or not the asset manager was making its fiduciary responsibility to investors its top priority.
At the helm of BlackRock is billionaire Larry Fink and the state attorneys general highlighted the company which has $10 trillion in assets under management, according to the Post report. They were specifically focused on the fact that the company invests in and conducts a regular stream of business with Chinese companies that claim to champion environmental concerns as they push for US based companies to embrace net-zero carbon emissions, as was reported by the Post.
The Post reported that the letter from the state attorneys general wrote also asked the SEC to examine whether the group’s ties to various climate groups and ESG objectives conflict with its fiduciary responsibilities.
“Based on the facts currently available to us, BlackRock appears to use the hard-earned money of our states’ citizens to circumvent the best possible return on investment, as well as their vote,” the AGs said in their letter, according to the Post report.
“BlackRock’s past public commitments indicate that it has used citizens’ assets to pressure companies to comply with international agreements such as the Paris Agreement that force the phase-out of fossil fuels, increase energy prices, drive inflation, and weaken the national security of the United States,” the letter adds.
The Post also reported that the group of attorneys general are asking for clear answers concerning the policies that govern BlackRock’s investment and if they are not forthcoming, sources have noted that “the treasurers in each of the states could pull their respective state pensions out of BlackRock’s coffers — or ban states from any sort of financial involvement with the institutions.”
Such was the case when last month, West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore banned five major financial institutions — including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and BlackRock that have limited their involvement with the fossil fuel industry — from entering into any banking contract with state agencies, the Post reported.
“Maybe there is another explanation for asset managers’ actions,” the attorneys general wrote in conclusion. “Fellow members of BlackRock’s climate organizations include pension funds from states such as California, Connecticut, Illinois, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington. Are asset managers making net-zero commitments to market themselves to these investors?”
Depending on the SEC’s response, sources say these other states could re-examine investing with BlackRock — a move that could pull billions from top Wall Street institutions.
Edited by: TJVNews.com
Talk to any savvy investor and they will tell you that the latest trend in terms of where their money is going are investments that promote issues pertaining to governance, environmental, social issues.
It was recently reported in the NY Post that these ESG investments have come under scrutiny from a group of state attorneys general and the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock is the focus of this criticism for their aggressive push of these kind of investments.
Leading the group of nineteen state attorneys general is Arizona AG Mark Brnovich, according to the Post report. The Group of top lawyers penned a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission in which they requested that the agency launch an examination into connections that BlackRock has with China and whether or not the asset manager was making its fiduciary responsibility to investors its top priority.
At the helm of BlackRock is billionaire Larry Fink and the state attorneys general highlighted the company which has $10 trillion in assets under management, according to the Post report. They were specifically focused on the fact that the company invests in and conducts a regular stream of business with Chinese companies that claim to champion environmental concerns as they push for US based companies to embrace net-zero carbon emissions, as was reported by the Post.
The Post reported that the letter from the state attorneys general wrote also asked the SEC to examine whether the group’s ties to various climate groups and ESG objectives conflict with its fiduciary responsibilities.
“Based on the facts currently available to us, BlackRock appears to use the hard-earned money of our states’ citizens to circumvent the best possible return on investment, as well as their vote,” the AGs said in their letter, according to the Post report.
“BlackRock’s past public commitments indicate that it has used citizens’ assets to pressure companies to comply with international agreements such as the Paris Agreement that force the phase-out of fossil fuels, increase energy prices, drive inflation, and weaken the national security of the United States,” the letter adds.
The Post also reported that the group of attorneys general are asking for clear answers concerning the policies that govern BlackRock’s investment and if they are not forthcoming, sources have noted that “the treasurers in each of the states could pull their respective state pensions out of BlackRock’s coffers — or ban states from any sort of financial involvement with the institutions.”
Such was the case when last month, West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore banned five major financial institutions — including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and BlackRock that have limited their involvement with the fossil fuel industry — from entering into any banking contract with state agencies, the Post reported.
“Maybe there is another explanation for asset managers’ actions,” the attorneys general wrote in conclusion. “Fellow members of BlackRock’s climate organizations include pension funds from states such as California, Connecticut, Illinois, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington. Are asset managers making net-zero commitments to market themselves to these investors?”
Depending on the SEC’s response, sources say these other states could re-examine investing with BlackRock — a move that could pull billions from top Wall Street institutions.
