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Wyoming secretary of state joins ESG pushback (2023)
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
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| • What is ESG? • Enacted ESG legislation • Arguments for and against ESG • Opposition to ESG • Federal ESG rules • ESG legislation tracker • Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's weekly ESG newsletter |
During a meeting of the State Loans and Investments Board on April 6, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray (R) said he opposes ESG and will do whatever he can, given his position, to oppose it:
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Secretary of State Chuck Gray left no doubt about where he stands on ESG policies during a State Loans and Investments Board (SLIB) meeting on Thursday morning, saying he won't tolerate them. He quizzed financial advisors trying to get a contract with the State of Wyoming to help manage the state's investments. ESG, also called "woke capitalism" by critics, rates funds on various markers of progressive-friendly policies related to protecting the environment, diversity in the workplace and community relations. Gray mentioned early testimony given by a handful of University of Wyoming students who said there are new investment opportunities opening up in fields that ESG-friendly investors have shunned. "There's this enormous opportunity in oil and gas created by, if you will, this clown show woke ideology that is out there, this ESG deal," Gray said. Gray grilled Kevin Alexander, a partner with private credit investment firm Ares Management, about whether he's opposed to ESG-driven investing and how he plans to take advantage of new competitive opportunities opened by the ideological-driven investing. Ares staff came before SLIB on Thursday seeking an approval to enter into a contract with the state to manage $100 million of its investments. "We're fundamentally investors in cash-flows," Alexander answered Gray. "Our view of ESG is, we want to provide a risk adjusted return on a predictable, contractual cash-flow. We do not have any limitations with respect to our investing that are guided from an ESG perspective." … State Treasurer Curt Meier did not ask any questions about ESG and described Ares staff as "a good group of capitalists." He has spoken against ESG investing in the past, but like Gordon, espoused a commitment to investing in what provides the state the highest rate of return. The topic of managing the state's investments falls more in the purview of Meier's department than Gray's on a day-to-day basis. The secretary of state oversees the state's business filings. But every member of SLIB gets a say in how the state's investments are handled. The state's current Investment Policy Statement (IPS) doesn't mention ESG or provide any guidelines to fund managers as to whether or not they can invest in funds supportive of ESG policies.[1] |
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See also
- Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's ESG newsletter
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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