South Carolina To Pull Final $200 Million From ‘Leftist’ BlackRock By End Of Year

South Carolina State Treasurer Curtis Loftis intends to pull the state’s remaining $200 million of holdings in asset management company BlackRock by the end of the year.

Loftis is the latest of several conservative state officials to argue that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing represents an advancement of values not held by his constituents. “I will not allow our financial partners to undermine my fiduciary responsibility to maximize investment returns while accepting a prudent level of risk for the benefit of our citizens,” he said in a Monday statement to the Washington Examiner. “It is imperative that we stand up to BlackRock and resist the pressure to simply fall into line with their leftist worldview.”

The move follows the state of Louisiana announcing its intentions earlier this month to divest from BlackRock until a total of $794 million is removed from the company. Weeks earlier, the state of Texas said that BlackRock and nine other firms had violated state law by “refusing to deal with” or “terminating business activities with” companies involved in the production and use of fossil fuels “without an ordinary business purpose.”

Companies that adopt ESG goals, often at the behest of asset managers such as BlackRock, may hire with respect to racial identity while deprioritizing merit, push green energy standards, or otherwise blend profits with progressive social and political agendas. Loftis said during an interview with CNBC that many residents of the Palmetto State are unaware of the degree to which ESG investing opposes their values.- READ MORE