Excerpt:
Two Republican senators expressed concern that Thrift Savings Plan asset managers BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors are putting ESG and their CEOs’ “left-leaning” priorities ahead of their fiduciary duties when it comes to proxy voting.
In a letter Thursday to Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board Acting Chairman David A. Jones, Sens. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin questioned the priorities of BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors, who between them manage nearly $500 billion for the $762.3 billion Thrift Savings Plan’s 6.2 million federal employees and members of the uniformed services. Of that, roughly $57 billion is managed by SSGA.
“We are concerned that BlackRock and SSGA may be prioritizing their CEOs’ personal policy views over retirees’ financial security,” the letter said.
Author(s): Hazel Bradford
Publication Date: 1 July 2021
Publication Site: Pensions & Investments