Texas School Fund Pulls $8.5 Billion Investment From BlackRock

Texas is divesting $8.5 billion from BlackRock Inc. due to the investment company’s fossil fuel policies, according to a statement from the chairman of the State Board of Education.

Aaron Kinsey, the Republican chairman of board, said that the $53 billion Texas Permanent School Fund on Tuesday delivered an official notice to BlackRock “terminating its financial management of approximately $8.5 billion in Texas’ assets.”

Kinsey said that the leadership of the fund decided to do so in order to comply with a 2021 law that restricts investments with companies that engage in so-called boycotts of the fossil fuels industry. BlackRock ...