Texas comptroller Glenn Hegar is implementing a 2021 law that requires state pension and school funds to divest shares they hold in listed financial groups which, in the government’s view, “boycott energy companies”.Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the Financial Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Several recipients told the Financial Times that their letters were sent to out-of-date addresses or to retired executives, and several European groups in the final list of 10 never responded to the state’s inquiries. Indeed, if Texas had used Sustainalytics’ version, its list might have been quite different. U.S. fund managers Janus Henderson and Franklin Templeton come out with better scores than BlackRock on Sustainalytics’ ranking. Similarly, Citigroup and Bank of America come above Credit Suisse.
“We do not believe this was a fact-based decision,” said Mark McCombe, head of BlackRock in the U.S. “We see this as the politicization of pension funds.”