Republican legislators in Texas are taking action to get to the bottom of the world's largest asset management firms' work to advance ESG — environmental, social and governance — policies to the detriment of their customers and the larger economy.
The latest development in the right's fight against woke policies being forced via firms like BlackRock and Vangaurd comes from Texas State Senator Bryan Hughes, who is now issuing subpoenas for information the firms have withheld in previous disclosures and announced a hearing to require an explanation from representatives from the firms trying to enact their will by circumventing the will of Americans.
"In August, the Senate Committee on State Affairs asked four financial firms, BlackRock, State Street Global Advisors, The Vanguard Group and Institutional Shareholder Services, to produce specific documents related to their ESG practices," Hughes explained this week. "The Committee needs these documents to uncover the extent to which these firms have been playing politics using Texans’ hard earned money," he added.
"Next week we will hold a hearing where each firm will appear and give account to the people of Texas," Hughes continued. "While each firm has produced documents, some have provided more than others. BlackRock in particular has refused to provide documents it considers internal or confidential," he noted. "Accordingly, we have issued a subpoena to BlackRock for the production of additional documents the committee needs to complete its work. We will not allow these firms to continue to use Texans’ money to force a narrow political agenda," Hughes pledged. "They have a legal duty to put their investors’ interests first, and we intend to make sure they do."
The push for accountability from Texas legislators comes as BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, and other ESG-advancing asset managers come under increased scrutiny and face divestments ordered by state financial officers in Missouri, Louisiana, Florida, and other places.
"We are witnessing a reckoning for these asset management firms that have until recently thought they could take hardworking Americans’ money and use it to drive their progressive agenda, and in some cases send those dollars to the Chinese Communist Party, with no consequence for their malfeasance," observed Will Hild, the executive director of Consumers' Research. "Now you can’t turn on the TV or read the news without BlackRock claiming to be a good steward of the assets they’re mismanaging via their ESG charade," he noted. Indeed, BlackRock especially has been running aggressive TV advertisements across cable news channels including Fox News.
"It is clear they’re on the ropes, and it’s leaders like Sen. Hughes that are going to make all the difference by doing what’s right for the American people and standing up to megalomaniacs like Larry Fink," Hild added. "This action from Texas will uncover much of what these firms have tried to hide – their agenda is driven by politics, not profits."
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