3.19.24 – Dallas Morning News
“Texas School Fund Yanks $8.5 Billion Investment from BlackRock in ESG Battle”
Excerpts from this article:
***ESG AGENDA – where socially conscious investors use a set of standards to screen potential investments – stands for “environmental, social, and governance” criteria – in other words, basing investments on how WOKE an investment is before deciding whether to invest in it
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 the 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 divest BlackRock in order to comply with a 2021 law that restricts investments with companies that engage in so-called boycotts of the fossil fuels industry.
BlackRock is on a list of companies that State Comptroller Glenn Hegar considers to engage in a boycott of the industry. The Texas State Board of Education directs the investment of the Permanent School Fund, according to its website…
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. This bold action helps ensure our PSF remains in fact permanent and will continue to support bright futures and opportunities for generations of Texas students.”
MORE INFORMATION
3.1.24 – “The Woke Headwinds [Fund Managers] Holding Texas and America Back” -- By Aaron Kinsey, Chair of Texas State Board of Education -- https://donnagarner.org/3-1-24-the-woke-headwinds-fund-managers-holding-texas-and-america-back-by-aaron-kinsey-real-clear-policy/