Missouri Appeals Ruling That Blocked Its ESG Investing Limits

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) on Friday appealed a court decision that blocked the state’s environmental, social and governance investing restrictions.

Ashcroft asked the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to review a federal judge’s August decision barring Missouri from enforcing the 2023 rules, according to a notice of appeal.

The regulations require investment firms to obtain written consent from their Missouri customers before using any “social objective or other nonfinancial objective” in their decisions. Judge Stephen R. Bough of the US District Court for the Western District of Missouri found that the rules violated ...