Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has pushed for businesses to stay out of politics, however, his asset management firm, Strive Asset Management, has been a leading voice against ESG investing, according to emails seen by watchdog Documented and provided to CNBC. The emails reveal Strive engaged with Republican state leaders, some of whom had criticised environmentally conscious investment standards. Strive has become one of the more vocal opponents of ESG investing, with Ramaswamy coining the term “post ESG mandate to the U.S. energy sector to drill for more oil.” The firm’s ETF Strive U.S. Energy has net assets of over $300m and lists Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips as its top three holdings.
Strive organised a call in March 2022, featuring what the email labelled as the “Pro-Fiduciary Investors Taskforce.” Over 30 people were invited to participate, including at least half a dozen Republican state financial officers who have either vehemently opposed ESG investment standards, or in some cases, have used their power to directly take on Wall Street firms that follow the practice, the email shows. Ramaswamy was not invited to the call. Utah state treasurer Marlo Oaks, who labelled ESG part of “Satan’s plan”, was also invited.
Before Ramaswamy jumped into politics, his firm had established ties to anti-ESG Republican officials. Strive CEO Matt Cole has said that they are “just copying the playbook of BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard”. Ramaswamy and his firm have since jumped into the political clash over ESG investing platforms. According to Ramawamy, the “biggest asset allocators into the asset management systems are state pension funds and BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard, Invesco and others, are regularly engaged”. His rivals of his, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have often attacked ESG investing standards and corporations that support social causes — an increasingly common refrain within the GOP.
Ramaswamy co-founded Strive in 2022, a year after he published a book called “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam”, which takes on the concept of stakeholder capitalism. His opposition to businesses expressing political views has helped to propel Ramaswamy to the top tier of the Republican primary, according to early polls. One recent poll found him, in a hypothetical GOP primary field, tied with former Vice President Mike Pence for third place with 5% of support. He trailed only Trump and DeSantis.
When Ramaswamy launched his company last year, he criticised ESG-style investing by BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard and accused the firms of using “their clients’ capital to advocate for viewpoints in the boardrooms of corporate America that most of their own clients disagree with.” Strive has since entered the political fray by working against ESG investing and against businesses expressing political views. Strive would like to have a forum to share information related to emerging developments in ESG, corporate governance, proxy voting, stewardship, and other fiduciary matters, says CEO Matt Cole.
The emails reveal Strive had tied itself to politicians including Florida’s GOP chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis, who in December said the state treasury would pull out $2bn in assets previously managed by BlackRock. West Virginia state Treasurer Riley Moore was also invited to take part in the call. He announced in 2022 that the state will no longer use a BlackRock investment fund as part of its banking transactions. Utah state treasurer Marlo Oaks, who labelled ESG part of “Satan’s plan” moved about $100m in state money previously managed by BlackRock to different asset managers.
