Tennessee Suing BlackRock Over ‘Misleading’ ESG Strategy
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti: “We allege that BlackRock’s inconsistent statements about its investment strategies deprived consumers of the ability to make an informed choice.”
The last time we checked on BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, CEO Larry Fink complained that Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) — the basis for its work investment strategy — was being “weaponized.”
Furthermore, late this year, there was a new report that “sustainability Funds,” such as the ones touted by BlackRock are not sustainable. Over the last quarter, investments in this type of fund fell by nearly $3 billion.
Now, the State of Tennessee is suing BlackRock in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, alleging the firm has harmed consumers through its environmental commitments and climate strategy.
According to the lawsuit filed in state court Monday and first obtained by FOX Business, BlackRock has articulated two inconsistent positions: one prioritizing financial returns and the other prioritizing investment policies to combat climate change. While BlackRock has faced widespread opposition over its so-called environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, Tennessee’s action on Monday is the first legal challenge to accuse BlackRock of violating consumer protection laws.
“We allege that BlackRock’s inconsistent statements about its investment strategies deprived consumers of the ability to make an informed choice,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti told FOX Business in a statement.
“Some public statements show a company that focuses exclusively on return on investment, others show a company that gives special consideration to environmental factors,” he continued. “Ultimately, I want to make certain that corporations, no matter their size, treat Tennessee consumers fairly and honestly.”
The Attorney General asserted BlackRock downplayed the extent to which ESG played a role in its strategy.
In the lawsuit, Skrmetti cited instances between 2021 and 2022 where BlackRock changed its statements about the financial impact of ESG. He pointed to examples of how the firm voted against corporate boards such Exxon Mobil Corp. because they failed to set targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Skrmetti also cited BlackRock’s membership in the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative and Climate Action 100+, industry groups that aim to use their financial muscle to help lower corporate greenhouse gas gases. The suit calls NZAM and CA100+ “activist organizations focused on achieving a political and environmental goal.”
Examples like these show how BlackRock has “downplayed the extent to which ESG considerations drive its investment strategies across all holdings, even in non-ESG funds,” according to the complaint. Tennessee said it’s seeking injunctive relief, civil penalties, disgorgement, restitution for consumers and recoupment of the state’s costs.
BlackRock is challenging those claims.
“We reject the Attorney General’s claims and will vigorously contest any accusations that BlackRock violated Tennessee’s consumer protection laws. Contrary to the Attorney General’s claims, BlackRock fully and accurately discloses our investment practices and our approach to proxy voting,” a BlackRock spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “On behalf of our clients, BlackRock has invested approximately $40 billion in Tennessee, and we are helping more than 600,000 hard working Tennesseans retire with dignity. We are proud of our contribution and committed to the future in Tennessee.”
Many of BlackRock’s clients are institutional investors, including pension funds, endowments and foundations, official institutions, and financial institutions, according to the lawsuit.
“BlackRock has agreed to use all of the assets in their portfolio to push the net-zero agenda,” Will Hild, the executive director of Consumers’ Research, told the DCNF. “If you have a dollar invested in BlackRock, you’re invested in an ESG fund.”
This legal battle will be one to watch, especially in light of globalist efforts to usurp national interests in order to achieve some grand, woke utopia.
BlackRock has told consumers that the only consideration driving its investment decisions is ROI.
At the same time, BlackRock has said it will manage all of its assets with the goal of reducing GHG emissions.
One of these statements cannot be true.
➡️https://t.co/HToxiYiKxP pic.twitter.com/yn6Eer0eeT
— TN Attorney General (@AGTennessee) December 18, 2023
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
So glad to see states getting pugilistic about federally-promoted follies.
Tennessee appears to have a strong case. But these things can take years to work out and the end result isn’t always what you think.
Blackrock will probably pursue a 3-pronged strategy here.
1) Already started: Vigorously oppose this in public and in court.
2) Try to get the Tenn. AG’s office to agree to some kind of consent decree or out of court settlement. Their end goal here would be to pay a small (to them) fine and maybe include some boiler plate in their quarterly reports explaining what people in Tennessee should believe.
3) Try to pull political strings or even work behind the scenes to push the next election toward someone more friendly to their interests. This would be the biggest win for them. To just make the problem go away.
I’m just speculating here. If I was a super lefty with a ton of money and no scruples, this is what I would do.
Simply brilliant. I and others have noted for a long time that “ESG” orthodoxies and supposed “standards” are in direct and brazen contravention of/opposition to, fiduciary standards and shareholder interests.
The contradiction is glaring and intrinsic to this ESG nonsense, as noted by the Tennessee AG’s tweet. As an investment manager and investment fund provider, you cannot place your customers’/fund investors’ interests at the forefront of your credo and business operation, if your CEO and the rest of the C-Suite leadership are strutting for the cameras and actively installing ESG orthodoxies at the alleged guiding principles underlying investment decisions.
So securities fraud is a thing? Who knew?
I’m not sure what the fraud is. People who have any money invested in a 401k or brokerage account should be paying attention and Blackrock has been screaming their ESG nonsense from the hilltop for years. This is why at my place of work I pulled all of my 401k money out of any Blackrock fund a few years ago.
Sure, ideally, investors should pay attention to their fund managers, but, not everyone has the time and inclination to follow the political machinations of their fund manager, and, fewer still have the ability/power to change fund providers, if Blackrock is managing their company’s 401(k),
The fraud involves Blackrock’s publicly and loudly proclaiming its fealty to “ESG” standards and the ESG ethos, while simultaneously presenting itself as a reliable steward of its investors’ money who is doing everything possible to maximize their return.
One straightforward change would be to end proxy voting of shares. If the individual owners of the shares don’t want to take the time to vote then let them assign a proxy apart from their broker dealer or fund manager. This would remove the oversize influence of woke weirdo entities and blunt the institutional capture strategy of the leftists.
ESG- Extra Stupid Grift