U.S. Republican Senators have released a report accusing BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street Global Advisors of using investors’ money to “advance liberal social goals” through ESG proxy voting.
The December 6 report prepared by Republican staff on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee argued that the three asset managers use voting power gained from investors’ money to push ESG and DEI. “These once benign-sounding concepts are political movements unmoored from financial performance and, perhaps not coincidentally, also popular with corporate C-suites where managers can claim ‘success’ on matters irrelevant to investor returns,” the report contends.
The report issues seven recommendations with one calling for an investigation by the Congress into the extent of influence of the “Big Three” over “management and corporate policy of their portfolio companies.” Another calls for a review of their compliance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13d-1.
All three pushed back against the allegations in separate statements.
BlackRock argued that the report’s conclusions “are built on flawed premises and risk harming millions of everyday investors that rely on mutual funds and exchange-traded funds to help them retire with dignity.”
State Street said that it was open to conversations with policymakers about how to address their concerns, but that “the report ignores the critical role of index funds in helping average Americans save for retirement by providing access to low-cost investments.”
Vanguard responded by stating that it is weighing ways to include individual investors in proxy votes, but that “our [Vanguard’s] interests are squarely aligned with empowering everyday investors to reach their long-term financial goals, leaving management decisions to companies and public policy decisions to policymakers.”