(PresidentialHill.com)- Nineteen Republican state attorneys general sent a letter last week to the CEO of asset manager BlackRock warning that the company’s shareholder activism could violate multiple state laws.
In a letter to BlackRock CEO Lawrence Fink, the 19 attorneys general expressed concern that the company’s conflicting statements about its investment policies are in conflict with its fiduciary responsibility to its investors.
The attorneys general accuse BlackRock of using its assets to strongarm companies into complying with the forced phase-out of fossil fuels, which contributed to increasing energy prices, skyrocketing inflation, and the weakening of US national security.
The letter was written in response to BlackRock Chief Client Officer Mark McCombe’s statement that the firm remains “agnostic” on the issue of renewable energy. The AGs argue that the company’s efforts to push climate change show there is no such neutrality.
They wrote that rather than being a spectator betting on a game, BlackRock has put on a jersey and actively taken the field as the quarterback.
The letter contends that BlackRock is pursuing a “private motivation” that runs counter to its “public commitments and statements,” warning that doing so may violate state laws “requiring a sole focus on financial return.”
BlackRock is fully committed to the radical ESG movement which pushes companies to commit themselves to environmental and social justice, including green energy, “equity” and “diversity” in hiring, and in other ways aligning with leftwing causes.
In its push for ESG, BlackRock lost more than $1.7 trillion in client assets during the first half of 2022, according to Bloomberg, losing more in a six-month period than any other firm has ever lost its clients.
Among the 19 attorneys general who signed the letter were Arizona’s Mark Brnovich, Daniel Cameron of Kentucky, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, and Ken Paxton of Texas.
