Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick announced on Tuesday that the state’s retirement system sold $500 million in public equities managed by BlackRock over the firm’s commitment to environmental, social, and governance investing, also known as ESG.
The news comes after several conservative states divested more than $1 billion in funds from BlackRock, leading to concerns on Wall Street about the asset management company’s risk profile and inducing a mild stock market selloff. Fitzpatrick said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire that the divestment is “the right thing to do” for Missouri state employees who rely on the funds for their retirement plans.
“Fiduciary duty must remain the top priority for investment managers — a duty some of them have abdicated in favor of forcing a left wing social and political agenda that has failed to succeed legislatively,” Fitzpatrick said. “We should not allow asset managers such as BlackRock, who have demonstrated that…
