The Attorney General for the great state of Tennessee has announced that he is bringing a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against financial giant BlackRock due to their business practices regarding ESG.
(Nikki Haley hardest hit!)
ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is a sort of corporate social credit system where firms like BlackRock try to cajole businesses into adopting woke business practices.
And while BlackRock has backed away from the ESG acronym, Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti is alleging that this is all part of BlackRock's misleading investors in Tennessee.
"We allege that BlackRock's inconsistent statements about its investment strategies deprived consumers of the ability to make an informed choice," Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said 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. Ultimately, I want to make certain that corporations, no matter their size, treat Tennessee consumers fairly and honestly."
BlackRock is trying to appease the woke globalists by considering ESG while telling their investors who oppose ESG that they are investing based on return on investment and nothing more.
Here's a summary if you're having trouble following along:
Skrmetti says Larry Fink, head of BlackRock, is being a complete weasel and so the state of Tennessee is going to make him come clean in court.
As part of its strategy, BlackRock joined ESG coalitions such as the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative and Climate Action 100+. Membership in both groups is dependent upon companies, such as BlackRock, making specific promises aimed toward fighting climate change that affects all their clients' assets and achieving specific emissions reduction targets. These promises include lobbying, engagement, voting on shareholder proposals, and managing assets with the goal of achieving "net zero" by 2050.
It should be noted that the firm explains many of its shareholder votes are intended to align companies with the aforementioned "net zero" goals. Yet BlackRock's disclosures do not mention such promises. In fact, BlackRock has told consumers elsewhere that the only consideration driving its investment decisions is return on investment.
Lying to investors isn't cool, Larry!
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