\n<\/p>\n
The Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF) announced that it is ending an $8.5 billion investment with BlackRock due to the firm\u2019s commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies.<\/p>\n
Aaron Kinsey, chairman of the State Board of Education, said in a statement that PSF has a \u201cfiduciary duty to protect Texas schools by safeguarding and growing the approximately $1 billion in annual oil and gas royalties managed by the Texas General Land Office.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kinsey explained that PSF\u2019s \u201crelationship with BlackRock was not in compliance\u201d with a bill that \u201cprohibits state investment in companies like BlackRock that boycott energy companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlackRock\u2019s dominant and persistent leadership in the ESG movement immeasurably damages our state\u2019s oil & gas economy and the very companies that generate revenues for our PSF,\u201d he continued. \u201cTexas and the PSF have worked hard to grow this fund to build Texas\u2019 schools. BlackRock\u2019s destructive approach toward the energy companies that this state and our world depend on is incompatible with our fiduciary duty to Texans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kinsey noted that PSF terminating its investment with BlackRock is a \u201cmajor step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe PSF will not stand idle as our financial future is attacked by Wall Street. This bold action helps ensure our PSF remains in fact permanent and will continue to support bright futures and opportunities for generations of Texas students,\u201d Kinsey concluded.<\/p>\n
BlackRock responded to PSF, saying that it helps \u201cmillions of Texans invest and save for retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn behalf of our clients we\u2019ve invested more than $300 billion in Texas-based companies, infrastructure and municipalities, including $125 billion invested in the energy sector, including a $550 million joint venture with Occidental. We recently hosted an energy summit in Houston designed to explore how to strengthen Texas\u2019 power grid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, after receiving negative feedback from its ESG push, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink reconsidered<\/a> his use of the term \u201cESG,\u201d which he said has been politically manipulated to an extent that leaves him feeling \u201cashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to use the word ESG because it\u2019s been misused by the far left and the far right,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n He suggested merely replacing the term with phrases related to specific issues like \u201cdecarbonization,\u201d \u201cgovernance,\u201d and \u201csocial issues.\u201d<\/p>\n There are all of the same focuses of ESG.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n