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June 3, 2023 | 9:38 a.m
The awakened governance that has boosted earnings at Anheuser-Busch often starts with the go-to investment firms, says one former executive.
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The awakened governance that has boosted profits at companies like Anheuser-Busch and Target often begins with left-wing investment firms pressuring them to push products their way, said a former Anheuser-Busch executive.
while appearing on Fox News “Jesse Watters Primetime” Behind-the-scenes political action from companies like New York-based BlackRock and Pennsylvania-based Vanguard has spurred several controversial decisions that have sparked nationwide boycotts from longtime more conservative clients — such as the ill-fated Bud Light promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, said Anson Frakes.
He said BlackRock, Vanguard and another company, State Street, manage about $20 trillion in capital and use their influence to promote agenda policies pushed by progressive lawmakers who oversee state pension funds that benefit corporations.
He added that a company runs the California Pension Fund – the largest in the country – and politicians in California can have a big say in corporate governance and the politicization of companies in which they invest heavily.
“In California, for example, they recently ordered those big pension funds to divest from things like fossil fuels and oil and gas, and then when Bill de Blasio decided, [former] The mayor of New York, who was there, did the same thing,” he said.
“But they’re also telling BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard if they’re going to manage their money, they have to abide by things like ESG — diversity, equality, inclusion — and adopt company-wide commitments and thus impose them on all of the biggest players in corporate America.”
He left his job at the St. Louis beer giant, Fricks added, in part because of the way a lot of corporate America acts in terms of defying public sentiment when engaging in politics.
He pointed to Atlanta, home of Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines, which became furious after Georgia lawmakers passed election integrity laws.
“Infuriatingly humble alcohol fanatic. Unapologetic beer practitioner. Analyst.”