US State Treasurers and NYC Comptroller Respond to Anti-ESG Efforts

A group composed of 13 state treasurers and the New York City comptroller has released an open letter denouncing as shortsighted the blacklisting of certain asset managers by other states that oppose environmental, social and governance-based investing.

“Blacklists are a backlash response on behalf of political and corporate interests seeking to interfere with the progress made by those of us who believe in collaboration and engagement. We work towards developing common goals, along with other investors and enlightened companies throughout the world,” wrote the group in a letter posted to the website For the Long Term. “The blacklisting states apparently believe, despite ample evidence and scientific consensus to the contrary, that poor working conditions, unfair compensation, discrimination and harassment, and even poor governance practices do not represent material threats to the companies in which they invest. They refuse to acknowledge, in the face of sweltering heat, floods, tornadoes, snowstorms and other extreme weather, that climate change is real and is a true business threat to all of us. We disagree.”

States including Texas, West Virginia and Florida have recently passed laws that prohibit the investment of public funds or conducting of state business with financial firms, including asset managers, that are involved in net-zero climate campaigns or that have adopted other ESG investment principles. In August, 19 state attorneys general wrote to BlackRock accusing the firm of violating its fiduciary duty to its investors by investing according to ESG principles.

The state treasurers and comptroller’s letter says disclosure, transparency and accountability by investors make companies “more resilient by sharpening how they manage, ensuring that they are appropriately planning for the future.”

Never miss a story — sign up for CIO newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest institutional investment industry news. 

The group said that their work, “alongside those of other investors, employees, and customers,” has “caused many companies to evolve their business models and their internal processes, better addressing the long term material risks that threaten their performance.”

The following officials signed the statement:

Maine Treasurer Henry E. M. Beck, Nevada Treasurer Zach Conine, Delaware Treasurer Colleen C. Davis, New Mexico Treasurer Tim Eichenberg, Illinois Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs, Wisconsin Treasurer Sarah A. Godlewski, Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, California Treasurer Fiona Ma, Rhode Island Treasurer Seth Magaziner, Vermont Treasurer Beth Pearce, Washington State Treasurer Michael J. Pellicciotti, Oregon Treasurer Tobias Read and Colorado Treasurer David L. Young.

Related Stories:

So Are ESG Investments Lousy, or Not?

DeSantis and Allies Bar Florida SBA from ESG Investing

Public Funds Are Among Strongest Backers of ESG Resolutions

Tags: environmental social and governance investing, ESG

The U.S. fell one spot this year to No. 18 out of the 44 developed countries in Natixis Investment Managers’ 2022 Global Retirement Index. The decline was attributed to lower scores on key measures, such as employment, income equality, government debt and tax pressure, as well as a surge in the nation’s older population.

Norway reclaimed the number one spot in this year’s ranking after four years in third place, and earned a score of 81%, followed by Switzerland, which came in second again this year with a score of 80%. Iceland, which was the top ranked country in 2021, slipped two spots into third with a score of 79%. Ireland and Australia rounded out the top five with scores of 76% and 75%, respectively. In the remainder of the top 10 is New Zealand (75%), Luxembourg (75%), the Netherlands (75%), Denmark (74%) and the Czech Republic (74%).

The index incorporates 18 performance indicators, divided into four thematic sub-indices, which Natixis says have been calculated using data compiled from a range of international organizations and academic sources. It takes into account the particular characteristics of the older demographic retiree group in order to assess and compare the level of retirement security in different countries around the world. The researchers calculated a mean score in each category and combined the category scores for a final overall ranking of the countries.

This year’s report warns that “key risk concerns for retirement security are coming to a head in today’s rapidly changing economic environment.” It also says rising inflation is “taking a dramatic bite” out of retirees’ purchasing power.

Never miss a story — sign up for CIO newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest institutional investment industry news. 

“Inflation has been the long-sleeping giant of worries for retirees and is now at the apex of retirement security threats,” Dave Goodsell, executive director of the Natixis IM Center for Investor Insight, said in a statement. “The rate hikes the Federal Reserve and other central banks have implemented to quell inflation further compound the problem, creating short-term pain for retiree portfolios.”

The report also says an aging population is a source of concern, and cites OECD projections that the share of the world’s population that is age 65 and older will rise to 26.7% by 2050, up from 17.3% in 2019. The problem is best demonstrated by the so-called “old-age dependency ratio,” it adds, which is the number of retired people out of every 100 people within a population.

“For most of the developed world, that number has been climbing steadily higher for the past century,” notes the report, which says the old-age dependency ratio in the U.S. has doubled to 28.4% in 2020 from 14.2% in 1950. It says that figure will climb to 40.4% by 2050. According to the report, the challenges of increased life expectancy are particularly problematic in countries with a pay-as-you-go retirement system, such as the U.S.’s Social Security system.

“A larger population that will live longer breaks the formula behind most pay-as-you-go retirement systems,” the report says. “What makes them work is the balance between the number of working age people and the number of retirees – and others – drawing benefits.”