Texas legislators approved a law in 2021 that restricts investments with companies engaging in so-called boycotts of the fossil fuels industry.Texas is divesting $8.5 billion from BlackRock Inc. due to the investment company’s fossil fuel policies, according to a statement from the chairman of the State Board of Education.
Aaron Kinsey, the Republican chairman of board, said the $53 billion Texas Permanent School Fund on Tuesday delivered an official notice to BlackRock “terminating its financial management of approximately $8.5 billion in Texas’ assets.”Kinsey said the fund’s leadership decided to do so in order to comply with a 2021 law that restricts investments with companies that engage in so-called boycotts of the fossil fuels industry.
In February, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, took the stage with BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink at an industry event in Houston. That led to speculation that the state’s tensions with BlackRock may have cooled.But this latest announcement shows the state’s fight with BlackRock isn’t going away anytime soon.
A spokesperson for the Permanent School Fund did not respond to a request for comment. Created in 1845, the fund helps finance schools in Texas. Kinsey is the chief executive officer of American Patrols, an aviation oilfield services company in Midland, according to a biography on the state BOE website.“Today represents a major step forward for the Texas PSF and our state as a whole,” Kinsey said in the statement. “The PSF will not stand idle as our financial future is attacked by Wall Street.