The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) uses taxpayer funds to invest in companies that promote left-wing ESG goals.
NAAG, an organization that purports to be a “nonpartisan national forum” for state attorneys general, has seen conservative attorneys general disassociate themselves because of NAAG’s left-wing bias.
The organization responded to a request made by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R) regarding its investments in entities that push left-wing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices that “destroy shareholder value in pursuit of faddish ideological aims, often without proper disclosure to investors.”
“Good evening and while this is late, we thought it important to share this information with our membership in response to a Breitbart article published today questioning NAAG’s investment policy,” a Thursday email from NAAG executive director Brian Kane to membership said. “Earlier today I provided Attorney General Kobach with a list of NAAG’s investments.”
While Kane writes “there is no mention of ESG or any other consideration not consistent with the uniform prudent investor rule,” line items in the fund clearly show investment in ESG-oriented entities like BlackRock and DFA Emerging Markets Social Core Equity Fund.
“Based on how I’ve seen NAAG operate, this revelation isn’t shocking,” Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R) told Breitbart News. “It seems they either don’t know how the money is invested, or they are trying to obfuscate the fact that there are investments in ESG-related funds. Either way, it’s not acceptable and this way of doing business is why I stopped using Montanans tax dollars to pay NAAG dues.”
Knudsen left NAAG along with several other attorneys general due to the organization’s left-wing bias.
“There is absolutely no way to say that ESG is not embedded in the investments shown on NAAG’s investment statement sheet,” Consumers’ Research executive director Will Hild told Breitbart News. “Part of the ESG scam is that large asset managers use shares held in funds without an ‘ESG’ or ‘Sustainable’ label to push their ESG agenda.”
“Take for example NAAGs largest holding, State Street’s S&P500 index fund. State Street has used the assets in that fund, even though it’s not labeled ESG, to push a political agenda,” he continued. “This even includes chastising companies in shareholder votes for giving to conservative candidates. Any assets invested by the major ESG pushers like State Street, BlackRock, or Vanguard can be and are employed by those companies to push and left-wing agenda, regardless of what label they slap on the fund.”
Some goals of ESG include forcing economic and social change by cutting American fossil fuel production in order to promote the climate change agenda and forcing racial quotas on the boards of companies.
The DFA Emerging Markets Social Core Equity Fund, for example, “seeks to purchase securities that are consistent with the Portfolio’s social issue screens. … The Portfolio seeks to exclude from its investment portfolio those companies that are identified by the Portfolio’s social issue screens.”
One social issue screen would disallow investment in companies that “have high carbon or greenhouse gas emissions or reserves that may produce those emissions; and/or (13) have meaningful exposure to coal.”
In addition, BlackRock is one of the most powerful organizations pushing such an ideology, while also maintaining a steady stream of purchasing property in the United States, driving up housing prices for American families.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink perhaps described the ESG movement best when he said, “Society is increasingly looking to companies, both public and private, to address pressing social and economic issues. These issues range from protecting the environment to retirement to gender and racial inequality.”
“Behaviors are going to have to change, and this is one thing we are asking companies, you have to force behaviors and at BlackRock, we are forcing behaviors,” Fink also said.
See NAAG’s investments here:
Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.