by James Murphy
The New American
The ESG (environment, social, corporate governance) investment concept has become quite toxic politically, mainly due to its corporate arm-twisting in favor of leftist “woke” policies and strict adherence to a “climate friendly” agenda. Because of this, at least one teacher of economics is suggesting a rebrand of the concept to make it more palatable to investors.
Alex Edmans, a former banker with Morgan Stanley who now teaches economics at the London Business School is proposing a new term — “rational sustainability” — in an effort to destigmatize the investment concept that has become a powder keg for investors anywhere to the right of Karl Marx.
In America, many states have abandoned wealth management companies such as BlackRock, which they believe overvalue ESG scores in their portfolios. Florida’s CFO, Jimmy Patronis, has referred to BlackRock’s involvement with ESG as a “social-engineering project.” The U.S. House of Representatives has launched a probe into ESG investing to see if it violates antitrust laws. Twenty-five states have sued the Biden administration after they attempted to overturn a Trump-era restriction that prevented fiduciaries from using ESG as a factor in their investment decisions.
