ESG investing guidelines are proof positive those who relied on the "real world" to cleanse nutty university ideology from the culture were way to optimistic regarding what’s "real."
When the universities are turning out brainwashed minions by the thousands and those minions are entering corporate life, who’s to say what’s real and what’s fantasy?
ESG investing operates under a set of arbitrary "environmental, social and corporate guidelines" that assign numerical scores to companies and even countries.
Since the woke investment managers are inventing the criteria and assigning the scores, ESG allows them to follow their ideological inclinations without fear of any nagging qualms regarding "fiduciary duty" to their clients.
If everyone is doing it, how can ESG be harmful?
Funny you should mention that.
How about we check with Sri Lanka to see how following ESG edicts works in the last remaining shreds of the "real world"?
Sri Lanka, due to the heroic efforts of its ruling class had an almost perfect ESG rating: 98.1 on a scale of 100.
The political authorities knew ESG kommissars hated fossil fuels, so to boost its ESG score the government banned chemical fertilizers, based on natural gas, and ordered farmers to revert to the organic fertilizers that were so popular in the 18th century.
This put Sri Lanka right up there with Haiti (score: 99) and poised for a cornucopia of Wall Street investment to start rolling into the country.
Unfortunately, there was no cornucopia and the government is also no longer with us.
The fertilizer mandate, according to Forbes, the "predictably and dramatically reduced crop yields. By the time the Sri Lankan government realized the disaster it had created and attempted to reverse course in November 2021, it was too late."
Bellying up the ESG bar "led the country into self-declared bankruptcy, leaving it unable to purchase adequate supplies of fuel and feed its population.
"Thousands of angry Sri Lankans stormed the presidential residence on Saturday, forcing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down and reportedly flee the country."
Strange, but that doesn't sound like a positive outcome for the "social" portion of ESG.
The ESG delusion has penetrated here stateside into the decision-making processes of the largest investment firms in the U.S.
This is no problem in Blue states, where the connection to reality is tenuous at best, but Red State sensible treasurers have seen the results of following ESG guidelines and they want no part of it.
BlackRock and Vanguard, two of the largest investment firms worshiping at the ESG altar, have drawn the wrath of treasurers like Louisiana’s John Schroder.
The Blaze reports Louisiana is pulling almost $1 billion in state funds from BlackRock.
"Your blatantly anti-fossil fuel policies would destroy Louisiana's economy. Once complete, this divestment will reflect $794 million no longer entangled in BlackRock money market funds, mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) holdings.
"This divestment is necessary to protect Louisiana from actions and policies that would actively seek to hamstring our fossil fuel sector. In my opinion, your support of ESG investing is inconsistent with the best economic interests and values of Louisiana.
"I cannot support an institution that would deny our state the benefit of one of its most robust assets. Simply put, we cannot be party to the crippling of our own economy," Schroder wrote.
Missouri agrees.
Fox says Missouri has also pulled half a billion in state funds from BlackRock. Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick said, "We should not allow asset managers such as BlackRock, who have demonstrated that they will prioritize advancing a woke political agenda above the financial interests of their customers, to continue speaking on behalf of the state of Missouri.
"It is past time that all investors recognize the massive fiduciary breach that is taking place before our eyes and do something about it."
Red State financial officers are banding together to send a strong, unified message to the high priests of ESG. "State Financial Officers Foundation has successfully organized a coalition of state treasurers over the last several months to leverage their pension plans and state investments to block banks from pursuing an ESG agenda.
"West Virginia, Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Florida, South Carolina, Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Arkansas and North Dakota have all pushed back against the ESG movement."
It was formerly said on Wall Street that "money talks and BS walks."
These state treasurers are going to discover if that's still true.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.