Calstrs CIO Says ESG Politics Creating ‘Sad’ Rift at Pensions

The politicization of ESG investing means public pension funds and money-management firms must increasingly contend with political decisions that dictate their choices, according to Christopher Ailman, chief investment officer for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System.

Florida’s Republican-controlled Senate last month passed a bill that bans state and local governments from using environmental, social, governance criteria when selling debt or investing public money. Lawmakers in California, meanwhile, are considering legislation that would require the state’s two biggest pension funds — including the teachers’ fund — to divest $15 billion in fossil fuel investments.

Ailman, speaking at the Milken Institute ...