REBEKA ZELJKO
The conservative nonprofit Consumers’ Research launched a campaign on Tuesday going after investment firm Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) for “embracing” in their environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) ratings.
The Consumers’ Research six-figure ad campaign features a new website, a national mailer, digital marketing ads and a mobile billboard outside of MSCI’s headquarters in New York City. This campaign came after a coalition of Republican attorneys general opened an investigation over allegations that MSCI had implemented anti-Israeli policies from the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
“MSCI is yet another example of a massive investment firm pushing their anti-Israel agenda instead of following their fiduciary duty,” Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “It’s especially appalling given the attack on the nation last October.”
(Consumers’ Research/MSCILies)
In March, the Jewish News Syndicate (JSN) reported that MSCI’s ESG policies allegedly downgraded several companies that “it said committed ‘human rights violations’ simply for conducting business in Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem.” Soon after, the coalition of 18 attorneys general, led by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, sent MSCI’s Chairman and CEO Henry A. Fernandez a letter expressing “great concern” over the JNS report.
“In other words, it appears that MSCI is embracing the BDS movement’s false narrative of Israeli occupation and taking actions designed to pressure companies to Boycott Israel — specifically by downgrading those companies’ EGS scores if they do business in Israel,” the letter reads.”
“According to JNS, MSCI deducted ESG points from an Israeli company specifically because of the company’s “participation in the construction of security and surveillance barriers designed to protect Israelis from terrorists,” the letter reads. “It is unthinkable to us that MSCI would stand by this position following the terrorist attacks on Israel last October.
MSCI is not the only asset management company to receive scrutiny for anti-Israel bias. In April of 2023, Consumers’ Research also launched a campaign against another investment firm, Morningstar, for also assigning ESG scores to negatively impact companies with connections to Israel.
This campaign was announced after 17 attorneys general sent a letter in August of 2022 highlighting concerns that a Morningstar subsidiary, Sustainalytics, “may be furthering the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.” This letter came after then-Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt opened an investigation in July 2022 after Morningstar conducted an internal review and admitted to their anti-Israel bias.
Anti-Israeli bias has become more pronounced across cities and college campuses following the October 7th terrorist attack. Between Oct. 7 and Jan. 7, incidents of antisemitism skyrocketed 360% to a total of 3,291 incidents, compared to the same period in 2022-2023 which saw 712 incidents, according to data from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
Conservative groups and lawmakers have attacked this bias within finance firms, particularly by pushing back on ESG. In July 2022, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida proposed legislation to ban state fund managers from taking ESG practices into consideration when investing state funds, saying its been “utilized to impose an ideological agenda on the American people.”
“The American people are sick and tired of the ESG elites allowing their personal progressive politics to interfere with their legal fiduciary duties,” Hild told the DCNF. “If MSCI can’t do their job without applying an unfair double standard to Israel then they shouldn’t be trusted by their customers or the American people.”
Featured image credit: (Screenshot/X@brshaevsky)
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