Tea leaves on Trump & GOP vs index funds

I've spent years tracking gripes from Republicans about the voting record of giant index funds, stemming from a burst of enthusiasm for environmental, social and governance investment reforms dating to 2020.
    
But since then top fund firms like BlackRock have backed many fewer shareholder resolutions and been friends to CEOs against activist pressure. A question now is whether U.S. President Donald Trump will order up rumored changes for the rules around proxy voting, the subject of my column this week that is linked below.
    
I have also flagged stories covering some fashionable new smart eyeglasses, the latest skirmish involving governance at Ben & Jerry's, and a European Union pullback on sustainability. 
       
Please follow me on LinkedIn and/or Bluesky. You can reach me via ross.kerber@thomsonreuters.com.

Financial executives and corporate leaders may learn soon if U.S. President Donald Trump will continue a Republican crusade against giant index funds.
    
Washington trade groups last month expected the White House to issue an executive order that could reshape corporate governance by imposing new limits on proxy advisers and on big passive index funds. Republicans have said the "Big Three" passive firms – BlackRock,  Vanguard and State Street – "use shareholder voting power to advance a liberal political agenda," according to a 2022 staff report by the Senate Banking Committee's Republican staff.
    
But the fund firms' votes have shifted to become more pro-management since 2022. A question now is whether the old Republican gripes about index funds still apply. I called around and read some tea leaves to explain the context to this question for my column this week, which you can read by clicking the button below.
      

A Ben & Jerry's ice cream delivery truck is seen at a company factory in Be'er Tuvia, Israel July 20, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Reuters Sustainable Finance is sent weekly. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.

Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here.

This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you've engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement.

Terms & Conditions