Whoa: Investment Giant Vanguard Quits Climate-Focused "Net Zero" ESG Group

Maybe another example of my truism that you can't afford Trumpian Indulgences in a Biden Austerity Economy?

Or is it just that they don't want to be boycotted by Republican governors?

Legal Insurrection:

Vanguard Group, One of 'Big Three' Index Fund Managers, Quits ESG-Oriented 'Net Zero' Group

Vanguard indicated its decision rested in a desire to maintain the freedom not to restrict its investment options.

Posted by Leslie Eastman

How It Started: In October, my colleague Mike LaChance noted Wall Street's enthusiasm for ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing was already starting to wane.

How It's Going: One of the "Big Three" index fund managers is now quitting an ESG-oriented group.

Vanguard Group Inc. is walking out of the world's largest climate-finance alliance, marking the coalition's biggest defection to date as US Republicans step up their threats against firms deemed hostile toward the fossil-fuel industry.

Vanguard's decision followed a "considerable period of review," according to a company statement Wednesday. Withdrawing from the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, which is a sub-unit of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, "will help provide the clarity our investors desire" about everything from the role of index funds, to financial risks in the context of climate change, the firm said.

...Vanguard indicated its decision rested in a desire to maintain the freedom not to restrict its investment options.

Initiatives such as the net-zero alliance "can advance constructive dialogue, but sometimes they can also result in confusion about the views of individual investment firms," Vanguard said. "That has been the case in this instance, particularly regarding the applicability of net-zero approaches to the broadly diversified index funds favored by many Vanguard investors."

The "Big Three" (BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street) can cast nearly 25% of the votes in any director election at S&P 500 companies. The departure has significant implications for the American economy.

That article goes on to note that, get this, studies show that funds that prioritize "environmental sustainability" don't necessarily have the greatest economic performance, if you can believe that.

Steve Milloy @JunkScience

Bad day for ESG:

Vanguard quits net zero banking group GFANZ.

Earlier, @BlackRock was subpoenaed by the state of Texas regarding illegal ESG activity.

https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-07/vanguard-quits-net-zero-alliance-marking-biggest-defection-yet

via @business

This might not be a total win, but it's still a win, says Townhall's Spencer Brown:

While the decision by Vanguard to untether itself from the net-zero alliance is a win in the anti-ESG fight, MarketWatch noted that the world's second largest asset management firm will still "track its progress" toward reducing emissions "as an effort to provide 'clarity' to its investors."

MarketWatch noted the significance of Vanguard's withdrawal, saying "some environmental groups who follow pledges toward net-zero greenhouse emissions from the lifeblood of the economy -- the financial services and banking sector -- called the exit a major blow to the effort. These groups argued that such a move is kowtowing to 'anti-woke' sentiment," their report added. That is, conservatives just won a major battle in the fight against ESG and the woke left's attempts to force an energy "transition" away from affordable and reliable American fossil fuels.

posted by Ace at 06:18 PM

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