BlackRock, State Street Defend ESG Policy After Republican Slam

Republican pushback this week against BlackRock Inc. and State Street Global Investors is just the latest from the GOP against the rise of ESG trading in retirement portfolios and the role big money managers play in exercising shareholder rights on behalf of millions of American investors.

U.S. Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) penned a letter to the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board Wednesday criticizing the two multinational investment management giants for prioritizing environmental, social, and corporate governance goals over the retirement security of federal government employees invested in the Thrift Savings Plan.

GOP lawmakers balked at the ...