{"id":1603032,"date":"2022-08-12T11:02:21","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T15:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1603032"},"modified":"2022-08-12T11:02:41","modified_gmt":"2022-08-12T15:02:41","slug":"blackrock-may-have-broken-the-law-with-its-woke-investing-schemes-republicans-argue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blackrock-may-have-broken-the-law-with-its-woke-investing-schemes-republicans-argue\/","title":{"rendered":"BlackRock May Have Broken The Law With Its Woke Investing Schemes, Republicans Argue"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fblackrock-may-have-broken-the-law-with-its-woke-investing-schemes-republicans-argue%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1603032&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Several Republican state attorneys general informed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/wall-street\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">asset manager<\/a> BlackRock last week that its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/business\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shareholder<\/a> activism efforts \u201cmay violate multiple state laws.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The officials\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasattorneygeneral.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/executive-management\/BlackRock%20Letter.pdf\">letter<\/a>, written in response to a communication from BlackRock Chief Client Officer Mark McCombe claiming that the firm is agnostic on the question of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/climate-change\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">renewable energy<\/a>, contended that BlackRock\u2019s efforts to promote climate policy shows that they act with \u201cmixed motives\u201d beyond the pursuit of profits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRather than being a spectator betting on the game, BlackRock appears to have put on a quarterback jersey and actively taken the field,\u201d the letter said. The officials pointed to BlackRock\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blackrock.com\/corporate\/literature\/publication\/our-commitment-to-sustainability-full-report.pdf\">Investment Stewardship Report<\/a>, which announced that the firm \u201ctook voting action on climate issues\u201d against 53 of its portfolio companies in 2020 while putting 191 others \u201con watch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, the attorneys general noted that BlackRock has aligned itself with groups such as the Net Zero Managers Alliance and Climate Action 100+ \u2014 the latter of which \u201caims to ensure the world\u2019s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters take necessary action on climate change\u201d by forcing companies to comply with the Paris Agreement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlackRock\u2019s past public commitments indicate that it has used citizens\u2019 assets to pressure companies to comply with international agreements such as the Paris Agreement that force the phase-out of fossil fuels, increase energy prices, drive inflation, and weaken the national security of the United States,\u201d the letter said. \u201cThese agreements have never been ratified by the United States Senate. The Senators elected by the citizens of this country determine which international agreements have the force of law, not BlackRock.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>BlackRock \u2014 which maintains a 4.2% stake in <a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/quote\/shareholders\/shareholders.html?symb=AAPL&#038;subView=institutional\">Apple<\/a>, a 4.5% stake in <a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/quote\/shareholders\/shareholders.html?symb=MSFT&#038;subView=institutional\">Microsoft<\/a>, and a 3.6% stake in <a href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/quote\/shareholders\/shareholders.html?symb=AMZN&#038;subView=institutional\">Amazon<\/a> \u2014 is among the most influential asset managers in the world. Combined with the holdings of Vanguard and State Street, the three firms control an average <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/how-three-investment-firms-are-turning-companies-like-disney-woke-and-what-you-can-do-to-fight-back\">20% stake<\/a> in every Fortune 500 company and have been willing to jointly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/activist-investors-are-seizing-companies-to-push-social-justice-measures\">exercise their power<\/a> toward activist ends.<\/p>\n<p>According to the attorneys general, such activism implies a departure from the maximization of returns for shareholders. \u201cBlackRock has a private motivation that differs from its public commitments and statements,\u201d the letter continued. \u201cThis is likely insufficient to satisfy state laws requiring a sole focus on financial return. Our states will not idly stand for our pensioners\u2019 retirements to be sacrificed for BlackRock\u2019s climate agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Amid its commitment to the Environmental, Social, and Governance (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/esg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ESG<\/a>) movement \u2014 by which executives commit themselves to pursuing green energy, appointing a certain number of minorities to serve as managers, or otherwise blending profitability with a Left-wing agenda \u2014 BlackRock <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/investment-giant-blackrock-loses-1-7-trillion-in-six-months\">lost<\/a> over $1.7 trillion in client assets during the first half of 2022. According to one analysis from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/opinion\/articles\/2022-07-20\/how-blackrock-lost-1-7-trillion-in-six-months\">Bloomberg<\/a>, no other firm has ever lost more money over a six-month period than BlackRock.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first half of 2022 brought an investment environment that we have not seen in decades,\u201d BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said in the company\u2019s second quarter <a href=\"https:\/\/s24.q4cdn.com\/856567660\/files\/doc_financials\/2022\/Q2\/BLK-2Q22-Earnings-Release.pdf\">earnings report<\/a>. \u201cInvestors are simultaneously navigating high inflation, rising rates and the worst start to the year for both stocks and bonds in half a century, with global equity and fixed income indexes down 20% and 10%, respectively.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>BlackRock and other large asset managers direct the policies of corporate America on the basis of their clients\u2019 funds \u2014 which is often the retirement and pension savings of typical American investors. However, an exclusive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/poll-by-two-to-one-margin-investors-reject-woke-companies-pushing-political-causes\">Daily Wire poll conducted by Echelon Insights<\/a> showed earlier this year that 64% of respondents believe \u201cindividual investors whose savings are being invested\u201d should decide whether retirement funds and pension plans are allocated according to ESG criteria. A mere 20% believe that \u201cWall Street asset managers\u201d should make such decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Several Republican state attorneys general informed asset manager BlackRock last week that its shareholder activism efforts \u201cmay violate multiple state laws.\u201d The officials\u2019 letter, written in response to a communication from BlackRock Chief Client Officer Mark McCombe claiming that the firm is agnostic on the question of renewable energy, contended that BlackRock\u2019s efforts to promote &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1603230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1603032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1603032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1603032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1603032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1603230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1603032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1603032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1603032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}