The Texas State Board of Education has ended its $8.5bn investment with BlackRock.

Texas Permanent School Fund assets has announced that it will end Blackrock’s management of its $8.5bn in assets with the firm. The move follows a backlash in the state of Texas, and other US states, against ESG investing. Blackrock has allegedly been accused of pursuing investment policies that prioritise ESG over investment returns which are also potentially damaging to the Texas energy industry.

In a letter published by Blackrock on 21 March from Vice Chairman Mark McCombe to Chairman of Texas State Board of Education, Aaron Kinsey, McCombe said, “Your actions put short-term politics over your long-term fiduciary responsibilities. We urge you to reconsider your decision and prioritize Texas schools and families who have benefited from BlackRock’s
consistent, long-term investment outperformance.

“Our international mandate outperformed Texas PSF’s own benchmark since our partnership began in 2006 – generating in excess of $250 million for Texas PSF – with competitive fees”.

He added, “The notion that we discriminate against oil and gas is simply false based on the investments we make on behalf of our clients. BlackRock holds more than $320 billion in global energy investments, including approximately $120 billion in Texas-based, publicly traded energy companies”.

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