Raising Our Voices on Anti-ESG Legislation

Every month our co-founders, Janine Firpo and Ellen Remmer, share their thoughts on a range of topics, some specific to Invest for Better and some not. These ‘opening letters’ are part of our e-newsletters and they provide a great glimpse into the happenings of our organization and larger community.

Letter from Ellen Remmer
March 22, 2023

Dear friends,

Many thanks to all of you who responded to our appeal to urge the White House to veto House Resolution 30, anti-ESG legislation that would make it extremely difficult for the fiduciaries who manage our pension and retirement funds to consider risks related to climate change, gender inequities, poor working conditions, and other ESG (environmental, social, governance) analysis in their investment decisions. In issuing his first veto yet, President Biden concurred with our view that passage “would put at risk retirement savings of individuals across the country.”

Sadly, we anticipate more of these types of efforts at the local, state, and federal levels in the election season ahead.  As Andy Behar of As You Sow said in an Invest for Better Activation webinar last month, these politicians have chosen to “turn financial markets into cultural grievances – all political theater for their own gain.”

Invest for Better is – decidedly – not a political organization.  We want to take the politics out of this discussion and let individuals invest their retirement accounts the way they want, in alignment with their values.  Sometimes that means we need to raise our voices and be heard.

Warmly,
Ellen