Last week, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced that the Florida Treasury will begin divesting $2 billion worth of assets currently under management by BlackRock, a global asset manager — one of the world’s largest.
As part of the announcement, Patronis noted in a prepared statement that, “Major banking institutions and economists predict a recession in the coming year.”
The state will immediately freeze about $1.43 billion in long-term securities, and about $600 million in short-term overnight investments managed by BlackRock because of the firm’s use of “Environmental, Social, and Governance” standards — otherwise known as ESG.
“As Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, it’s my responsibility to get the best returns possible for taxpayers. The more effective we are in investing to generate a return, the more effective we’ll be in funding priorities like schools, hospitals and roads, Patronis said. As the Fed increases interest rates to combat the inflation crisis, I need partners within the financial services industry who are as committed to the bottom line as we are – and I don’t trust BlackRock’s ability to deliver.”
As the News Service of Florida’s Jim Turner reported, Republican leaders in Florida and across the country have targeted ESG ratings, which can involve considering a wide range of issues in investments, such as companies’ climate-change vulnerabilities; carbon emissions; racial inequality; product safety; supply-chain labor standards; privacy and data security; and executive compensation.
According to Patronis, the taxpayer funds are invested by asset managers as part of Florida’s Treasury Investment Pool. By the beginning of 2023, the State Treasury will have divested from BlackRock’s management of all short and long-term investments and relocated investment responsibilities to other fund management entities. The state’s Department of Financial Services oversees about $60 billion and that the money with BlackRock will be moved “elsewhere.”
Florida Treasure Hunt: find some holiday cash: As part of that release, Patronis also encouraged Floridians to recover any unknown or unclaimed cash or property through FLTreasureHunt . gov. Florida currently has $2.5 billion total in unclaimed property accounts.
“One in five Floridians has unclaimed property just waiting to be claimed, and it only takes a few minutes,” Patronis said. “I encourage everyone to search now for unclaimed property for yourself, your friends, and your loved one. It’s your money, claim it today.”
