Money should be invested in ways that financially benefit pensions, not politically benefit the Left.
ESG or environmental, social and governance basically amounted to a massive hijacking of equity to pursue leftist goals culminating in a completely woke economy. The backlash had been slow in coming.
Even while ESG ruled the roost, the leftist apparatus was targeting pension funds and oil companies, accusing them of mismanagement and deceit for not factoring in ‘global warming’ hoax risks.
Meanwhile, ESG was a fundamental risk and a mismanagement of assets for political gain.
Now a federal judge has struck down ESG while hitting the mothership behind it: Black Rock.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor said American had breached its legal duty to make investment decisions based solely on the financial interests of 401(k) plan beneficiaries by allowing BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab, its asset manager and a major shareholder, to focus on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors.
“The evidence made clear that [American’s] incestuous relationship with BlackRock and its own corporate goals disloyally influenced administration of the Plan,” wrote O’Connor, an appointee of Republican former President George W. Bush.
The judge ruled after holding a four-day non-jury trial in June, in a class action by American pilot Bryan Spence on behalf of more than 100,000 participants in the retirement plan. O’Connor said he would decide later on whether class members suffered financial harms and American must pay them damages.
If pension funds were being forcibly invested in companies that had to follow Christian moral standards, the Left would be losing its mind and storming against the idea, but divert pension funds to companies that follow leftist political standards, and that’s supposed to be not only acceptable but standard business practice.
Well, it’s not. And hopefully, this ruling helps speed the death of ESG. (At which point, in keeping with the DEI coverup now underway, it will be renamed something else.)
Money should be invested in ways that financially benefit pensions, not politically benefit the Left.
Article posted with permission from Daniel Greenfield
