ESG & Investing

Vanguard Exit Has Lawyers Mapping Out Wall Street’s Top ESG Risk

Attorneys advising asset managers say Republican attacks are less likely to succeed than lawsuits targeting inadequate climate strategies.

A Texas Senate Committee hearing on the ESG practices of finance firms in Marshall, Texas, US, on Dec. 15.Photographer: Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg
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At a recent climate-finance meeting attended by Wall Street giants including BlackRock Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., no one spoke until a lawyer had finished reading out a disclaimer stating the group was not a cartel.

The newly formed ritual is a direct reaction to the increasingly hostile position of the Republican Party toward firms trying to incorporate environmental, social or governance factors into their strategies.