Skip to main content

US Republicans pull $1bn from BlackRock over ESG investing concerns – Financial Times

BlackRock has lost more than $1bn in asset management business in US Republican states upset with the company’s green investing policies, withdrawals that have become a political problem but so far have not dented the company’s revenues.

In an interview with the Financial Times, South Carolina state treasurer Curtis Loftis said he would pull $200mn from BlackRock by the end of the year. Louisiana treasurer John Schroder said last week he is withdrawing $794mn from BlackRock. Utah’s treasurer Marlo Oaks said he liquidated $100mn in BlackRock funds, and Arkansas reportedly pulled $125mn this year.

As the global sustainable investing phenomenon surged — it has increased by $1tn since 2020 — BlackRock jumped into the action. The company manages five of the top 20 US sustainable funds by assets, which is more than any other investment manager, according to Morningstar.

Beyond its fund offerings, chief executive Larry Fink has pushed companies to cut their carbon emissions and threatened to drop laggards from actively managed funds — policies that have put a target on BlackRock in Republican states.

Loftis said he previously rejected BlackRock as a manager for a $41bn fund his office oversaw because of concerns about its environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies. Instead, he said he picked Federated Hermes to manage the fund.

Pittsburgh-based Federated Hermes also offers ESG funds and widely promotes its leadership in this space, especially since the acquisition of London-based Hermes in 2018. But Federated has been a top donor to the State Financial Officers Foundation, an organisation of Republican treasurers including Loftis.

After pressure from foreign pension funds, Federated Hermes withdrew its SFOF sponsorship, the FT has previously reported. Now, the SFOF does not list any corporate sponsors on its website.

Earlier this year, Invesco and Fidelity were also listed as SFOF sponsors.

Loftis said Fink was “a very smart guy” and that he admired him. But he accused the people pushing sustainable investing of hypocrisy.

“So much of it does not help the people it is supposed to help,” Loftis said. “That is why I have really gotten my back up.”

“Poor people, historical minorities, are having money and services diverted from them for these globalist, leftist ideas,” he said.

BlackRock declined to comment, but pointed to a letter the company sent in August to state attorneys-general to defend its ESG policies.

The Republicans’ race to cut ties with BlackRock had not affected its underlying business, said Greggory Warren, an analyst at Morningstar. The BlackRock funds the Republicans had dropped were often cash-like products with small fees, he said. The Republicans’ ESG backlash was “political posturing” ahead of elections in November, he added.

US state treasurers typically oversee cash management, bond deals and certain aspects of a state’s retirement funds. Though BlackRock has become the Republican treasurers’ favourite punchbag, other financial companies have been hit as well.

In West Virginia, the treasurer’s office will transfer banking services out of JPMorgan Chase by the end of November, according to a spokesman. West Virginia earlier this year banished JPMorgan, BlackRock and three other banks for allegedly hurting energy companies, the state treasurer said.

In Utah, Oaks said his fiduciary obligation prompted him to drop BlackRock. The company had pursued a “dual mandate” by meeting with companies about climate change concerns, he said. “We need to ensure that the money is not being used to drive a separate agenda different from our fiduciary obligation,” he added.

Techyrack Website stock market day trading and youtube monetization and adsense Approval

Adsense Arbitrage website traffic Get Adsense Approval Google Adsense Earnings Traffic Arbitrage YouTube Monetization YouTube Monetization, Watchtime and Subscribers Ready Monetized Autoblog



from Investing – My Blog https://ift.tt/dPESy8A
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

These money and investing tips can give you a smooth ride in a rough market – MarketWatch

Don’t miss these top money and investing features: Sign up here  to get MarketWatch’s best mutual funds and ETF stories emailed to you weekly! INVESTING NEWS & TRENDS How to approach rebalancing your portfolio for 2023 It’s not a good idea to rebalance your portfolio at preset intervals Read More Bonds aren’t more attractive than stocks even as yields register a 15-year high The S&P 500’s return is similar when the 10-year Treasury yield is high or low. Read More Here’s who’s been trading crypto, and how they’re doing A new study finds that most people who entered the cryptocurrency market have lost money — and that those people are young men. Read More BlackRock sees these thematic ETFs potentially outperforming in 2023 In this week’s ETF Wrap, MarketWatch spoke with BlackRock’s Jay Jacobs on investing themes he likes for 2023 as investors worry about a slowing economy and monetary tightening. Read More Three seasonal effects in the stock market begin around T...
Post a Comment
Read more

Four months until SACSCOC visits Auburn: Four things you might not know about SACSCOC – Office of Communications and Marketing

Notice body There’s less than four months remaining until Auburn University’s accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, or SACSCOC, arrives for its on-site visit. As the Accreditation team prepares for the on-site phase of the reaffirmation process, we want to share four things you might not know about SACSCOC: 1. SACSCOC is self-governed by the accredited institutions SACSCOC’s Principles of Accreditation requires a model of shared governance of its member institutions and holds itself to the same standards. The Commission on Colleges is operated by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees. The 77 Board members are elected by the College Delegate Assembly, or CDA, which is comprised of one voting representative from each of the 780 SACSCOC-accredited institutions. Each representative is the president or other chief executive of their respective college or university. In other words, the election of SACSSCOC’s leadership is in the hands of its ...
Post a Comment
Read more

5 YouTube features to use to boost engagement – Sprout Social

When you want to explore a new hobby or learn something new, where do you go? The answer is probably “YouTube.” The second-most popular social platform has come a long way since the “Charlie bit my finger” days. And new YouTube features are making it even more beneficial to marketers and creators—YouTube Shorts topped 1.5 billion monthly users in just two years. With 51% of consumers anticipating YouTube will be one of the social media platforms they use most this year, it’s a digital space your audience most likely uses. But with 500+ hours of content uploaded to YouTube every minute, high popularity also means high competition. Whether you’re new to YouTube or conducting a YouTube audit , using some of these features can help you stay ahead, grow your audience and give your channels a boost. 5 free YouTube features you need to use more often To help your audience find your videos in YouTube and Google search alike, you need to use the right tools. From underused YouTube sear...
Post a Comment
Read more