December 10, 2022 - Watch out for ESG assets that turn out not to be

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December 10, 2022

Watch out for ESG assets that turn out not to be by Matthew Lau
Appeared in the Financial Post on December 6, 2022

Gina's Thoughts

"The backlash against ESG investing has finally arrived." This was proclaimed in a NY Times editorial in August 2022. Fast forward to December and we have Vanguard, the 2nd largest asset manager in the world (after BlackRock) pulling out of both NZAM and GFANZ whose members have committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. We have attorney generals (AGs) in the US divesting from the divestors by refusing to put state money in BlackRock's coffers. And, as Matthew Lau writes, we have a "recent backlash against ESG and the multiple definitions and confusing terminology, the overreliance on checklists, the potentially misleading marketing campaigns, and the frequent lack of rigour and accountability." Lau also posits that the investing backlash against ESG is due to ESG's abandonment of fiduciary duty. In a letter to BlackRock, the aforementioned AGs wrote, "BlackRock appears to use the hard-earned money of our states' citizens to circumvent the best possible return on investment." The backlash has begun in the US. Will Canada follow suit?

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