https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/finance-and-
economy/2941273/mississippi-slaps-blackrock-cease-and-desist-order-esg/

BlackRock is facing a legal warning from Mississippi in the form of a
cease-and-desist order over its ESG policies, the latest salvo from
Republicans in a multiyear battle with the firm.

The order, issued by Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson on
Wednesday, accused BlackRock of making �fraudulent statements, omissions,
and other misrepresentations� about its environmental, social, and
governance strategies. The order comes a week after Texas announced a
major divestment from the world�s largest money manager.

In the 29-page cease-and-desist letter, Watson said that the
misinterpretations in question relate to BlackRock �pushing� ESG factors
on portfolio companies. He argues that many of the money manager�s
practices �would operate as a fraud or deceit� on investors in
Mississippi.

�Investment companies will not push their political agenda on
Mississippians, especially through fraudulent and deceptive means,� Watson
said in a separate statement announcing the cease and desist. �All
citizens should have the opportunity to make informed and educated
decisions when investing their hard-earned money. If not, our office will
hold these bad actors accountable.�

Republican-led states are years into a war against BlackRock and ESG more
generally. ESG is a financial concept that centers on compelling social
change through investment and divestment. It is a corporate model that
doesn�t solely look at maximizing profit but also incorporates other
elements into financial decisions � for instance, how an investment might
affect fossil fuel emissions.

Republican state officials contend that ESG practices run counter to the
traditional investment model of working to maximize shareholder value.
They also have argued that firms like BlackRock and some of the big banks
have worked to use ESG strategies to indirectly �blacklist� fossil fuels,
firearms, and other disfavored businesses.

BlackRock is pushing back on the Mississippi order, though.

�Many policymakers and government officials have ideas on how we should
invest our clients� assets,� the firm said in a statement. �We are always
bound to invest consistent with our clients� choices, their best financial
interests, and applicable law. Our only agenda is maximizing risk-adjusted
returns for the funds our clients choose to invest in.�

In a phone call, a spokesman for BlackRock told the Washington Examiner
that several of the contentions laid out in the cease-and-desist order are
inaccurate. The spokesman emphasized that all the money manager does is
�in the best financial interest to clients.�

There has been a noticeable shift from BlackRock amid the recent pushback.
For instance, in 2020, CEO Larry Fink�s much-anticipated annual letter
focused on climate change, saying the matter was becoming a �defining
factor� in BlackRock�s assessment of companies.

But in Fink�s latest annual letter released this week, he endorsed �energy
pragmatism.� He said that strategy entails both investing in clean energy
technologies to reduce carbon emissions and funding traditional energy
sources, like fossil fuels, to protect energy security.

Also, in an annual report released last year, it was revealed that the
money manager supported just 7% of nearly 400 shareholder proposals on
ESG-related matters. That is a marked shift. BlackRock supported nearly a
quarter of such proposals in the previous cycle and 47% of environmental
and social proposals the cycle before that.

GOP states have gone after BlackRock several times in the past. Last week,
Texas State Board of Education Chairman Aaron Kinsey notified the firm
that the state was pulling some $8.5 billion in investments from BlackRock
over its ESG policies.

�BlackRock�s dominant and persistent leadership in the ESG movement
immeasurably damages our state�s oil and gas economy and the very
companies that generate revenues for our [Permanent School Fund],� Kinsey
said. �Texas and the PSF have worked hard to grow this fund to build
Texas�s schools.�

South Carolina, Utah, Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana, and other states have
also divested or announced planned divestments of hundreds of millions of
dollars from BlackRock and Fink.

--
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No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
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Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.

President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.