McRae: Protecting Your Golden Years
By Treasurer David McRae
The Golden Years. Retirement. The reward for a lifetime of hard work. It’s what so many Mississippians look forward to, what so many plan for, hope for, save for.
But in recent years, Wall Street bankers have taken a little polish off those Golden Years, sacrificing investment returns in exchange for feel-good talking points.
I have long sounded the alarm about the harms of Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) mandates, as they force investors to prioritize a liberal agenda over your dollars and cents. But while the ESG funds advance an elitist liberal agenda, they consistently underperform for everyday Mississippians, putting your Golden Years at risk.
Recently, I helped lead a group of 22 state financial officers in urging the federal government to address concerns about asset management and plan administrators neglecting their fiduciary duties. Simply put: retirement advisors have a responsibility to protect your future, not the woke agenda. ESG, and similarly DEI, policies jeopardize the interests of hardworking Mississippians. It is thereby imperative that retirement advisors remain focused on what matters – economics, not elitist propaganda. Many in Mississippi do, but certainly not all retirement accounts are properly protected.
In a letter addressed to the Securities and Exchange Committee (SEC) and the Department of Labor, I urged the federal government to “take decisive action to uphold fiduciary duty laws and protect retirement plans from activist corrosion,” a request that is consistent with President Trump’s agenda.
“Fiduciaries must act solely in the financial interests of beneficiaries,” the letter continued. “Allowing ESG activism to dictate investment decisions is inconsistent with ERISA’s mandate to act solely in the financial interests of beneficiaries. Your leadership is urgently needed to reaffirm this fundamental principle and ensure retirement funds are protected from corrosive ESG and DEI-driven investing.”
Immediate action is needed to protect the retirement plans of Mississippi families. I urge the federal government to protect hardworking Mississippians, secure retirement accounts against harmful ESG and DEI policies, and empower more Americans to experience their golden years.
Mississippi Treasurer David McRae is the 55th Treasurer for the State of Mississippi. In this role, he helps manage the state’s cash flow, oversees College Savings Mississippi, and has returned more than $100 million in unclaimed money to Mississippians. For more information, visit Treasury.MS.gov.
