AG pressures large investment firms to clarify political priorities
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Attorney General Derek Schmidt is pressuring an investment firm that handles a portion of the KPERS fund to clarify its priorities so that investor money is not used to further political agendas.
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says earlier in August, he asked one of the nation’s largest investment firms to clarify its priorities and ensure investor money will not be used to further the firm’s political agenda related to energy policy.
In a letter to Laurence Fink, CEO of BlackRock, Inc., AG Schmidt said he and 18 other state attorneys general expressed concerns that the company’s conflicting statements in investment policies are at odds with its fiduciary responsibility to seek returns for investors.
Schmidt noted that BlackRock manages investments for several state pension funds – including a part of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System portfolio.
“BlackRock’s past public commitments indicate that it has used citizens’ assets to pressure companies to comply with international agreements such as the Paris Agreement that force the phase-out of fossil fuels, increase energy prices, drive inflation, and weaken the national security of the United States,” the attorney general wrote. “Accelerating and delivering the goals of the Paris Agreement across all assets under management through an escalation and voting strategy is a far cry from neutrality. Rather than being a spectator betting on the game, BlackRock appears to have put on a quarterback jersey and actively taken the field.”
The AGs also said that BlackRock’s actions in the area could violate various state laws.
“Our states will not idly stand for our pensioners’ retirements to be sacrificed for BlackRock’s climate agenda,” they wrote. “The time has come for BlackRock to come clean on whether it actually values our states’ most valuable stakeholders, our current and future retirees, or risk losses even more significant than those caused by BlackRock’s quixotic climate agenda.”
Schmidt noted that the Kansas Legislature in 2022 appropriated more than $1.1 billion in additional KPERS payments. He said finding BlackRock’s actual position on investigating priorities will help ensure the funds are invested wisely to maximize returns – not used to support political priorities.
To read a full copy of the letter, click HERE.
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