RoQita loses ESG fight in court, will appeal

Attorney General Todd Rokita is taking further action to stop globalist corporations and their left-leaning allies in government from gutting the retirement accounts of hard-working Hoosiers through discredited ESG investment strategies.

He and 25 other attorneys general are appealing a federal district court’s decision this fall in favor of a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rule endorsing the ESG approach.

“This is a David-versus-Goliath battle,” Attorney General Rokita said. “We’re taking on very powerful forces arrayed against the interests of everyday working people. These ESG giants are threatening the future security of millions of retirees. Not only that, but they’re also trying to silence these same people’s voices — seeking to impose upon all of us a leftist social and economic agenda that could not otherwise be implemented through the ballot box.”

ESG investing — the acronym stands for “environmental, social and governance” — prioritizes goals such as mitigating climate change and achieving social justice over the traditional emphasis of maximizing returns for investors.

In January, Attorney General Rokita and other attorneys general sued the Biden administration over the DOL rule — asserting among other things that it runs contrary to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

Attorney General Rokita has been a national leader in the fight against ESG investing.

He has issued an official advisory opinion clarifying that Indiana and its investment managers must give priority to the financial interests of state employees and retirees — refraining from using investment strategies guided or influenced by ESG considerations.

Among other actions, he is also investigating three of the largest investment managers — BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street.

This week, Attorney General Rokita thanked his fellow attorneys general from Texas and Utah for their work organizing the multistate coalition filing the appeal.