Louisiana treasurer announces plan to divest state funds from BlackRock (2022)

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October 5, 2022

On October 5, Louisiana Treasurer John Schroder (R) announced that he had joined a growing number of state public officials who have either pulled their state’s investments from BlackRock and other ESG-fund providers or have threatened to do so. In his letter to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, also dated October 5, Schroder said that, in his words, the firm’s “blatantly anti-fossil fuel policies would destroy Louisiana’s economy.”[1][2]

“Louisiana Treasurer John Schroder penned a letter to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, explaining the state would liquidate all BlackRock investments within three months and, over a period of time, divest nearly $800 million from the bank's money market funds, mutual funds or exchange-traded funds. The state treasurer blasted Fink's pursuit of environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards that promote green energy over traditional fossil fuels. …

"Schroder added that he refused to spend a penny of state funds with a firm that will 'take food off tables, money out of pockets and jobs away from hardworking Louisianans.'

"Including offshore production, Louisiana drills the second-most oil and third-most natural gas in the nation, according to the Energy Information Administration. The energy industry is the state's largest sector, accounting for 8.1% of Louisiana's total gross domestic product …

"The treasurer noted in the letter that the state has already removed $560 million from BlackRock investments, a figure that will swell to $794 million by year's end under his agency's plan. ...

"BlackRock declined to comment on Schroder's letter, but pointed FOX Business back to a letter it sent to 19 Republican attorneys general in September. ...

"We are disturbed by the emerging trend of political initiatives that sacrifice pension plans’ access to high-quality investments – and thereby jeopardize pensioners’ financial returns," the firm wrote to the state officials on Sept. 7.”

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Footnotes

  1. ↑ Office of the Louisiana State Treasurer, "Letter to Larry Fink," accessed October 14, 2022
  2. ↑ Fox Business, "Louisiana divests from BlackRock over ESG policies: 'Would destroy Louisiana’s economy,'" October 5, 2022
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