Red state treasurer reveals why state financial officers have 'obligation' to combat ESG, DEI

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EXCLUSIVE: As Republican state financial officers across the country move to rid the government of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, social  and governance (ESG), Fox News Digital spoke to Utah's state treasurer about the importance of bringing meritocracy and fiduciary responsibility back to markets and investments. 

"ESG introduces another motive or another motivation to address societal issues through the capital markets or through investment, and when you do that, you violate the fiduciary standards that all of us as financial officers are committed to," Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks told Fox News Digital at the State Financial Officers Foundation conference in Orlando, Florida. 

"And, so, because of that dual mandate, you really have problems when you're managing money for other people. If a single person wants to do it or a family wants to invest their money that way, that's their choice. But when you are managing money for other people, we don't have that choice. We have an obligation to do what's in their financial best interest."

Oaks has been at the forefront of the fight against ESG, an investing principle critics say companies and institutions utilize to enact "woke" agendas, authoring several letters on the subject. 

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"When you talk about managing money for the benefit of other people, which is what a lot of state treasurers do, we have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the beneficiary," Oaks explained. "So, we have the duty of loyalty and a duty of care.

"And it is really focused on the financial outcomes for the beneficiaries. They are depending on this money for their retirement, and, so, it is our financial obligation or fiduciary obligation to act in their best interests."

Oaks said firefighters, teachers and police officers who depend on state pensions end up being harmed when states or companies are investing based on factors other than protecting investors. 

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"ESG introduces another motive or another motivation to address societal issues through the capital markets or through investment, and when you do that, you violate the fiduciary standards that all of us as financial officers are committed to," Oaks said. 

Oaks and the other Republicans at the SFOF conference have also been vocal opponents of DEI measures and praised President Trump for his efforts to roll back DEI in government. 

Oaks told Fox News Digital ESG and DEI are closely related and that his opposition to DEI also links back to the desire to do what's best for shareholders in his state.

"DEI - diversity, equity, inclusion - that's really the S portion, the social portion of ESG, and, again, it's important because a lot of the push by activist folks in the financial markets is to push an agenda onto corporate America, to have them adopt policies at companies that really are not in the best interest of the companies. And companies have a fiduciary obligation to their shareholders," Oaks said. 

"When they introduce things like DEI, you change hiring practices, not for merit-based, it moves to other discriminatory hiring practices and ultimately harms companies and their financial output. And, so, that ultimately harms the teachers, the firefighters, the police officers that you're trying to help with their retirement."

Oaks was one of two dozen state financial officers who sent a letter in March to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), asset managers, proxy advisors and public companies, sounding the alarm on the financial risk of prioritizing a political agenda, like DEI, over financial returns. 

Oaks told Fox News Digital that when DEI is introduced at the state financial officer level, "we are potentially introducing financial harm." 

"And we've seen that with companies like Target, like Bud Light, you know, other companies that have adopted policies that are not in the financial best interest of the shareholders. They have harmed the shareholder value, and that ultimately harms the outcomes that these hardworking public servants and teachers, et cetera, that have worked so hard, retire with the money that they need."

Fox News Digital's Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report