Lawmakers have criticized the use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors by pension fund managers to make investment decisions for retirement plans as they believe it prioritizes left-wing agendas. Ruben Gallego, a candidate for the Arizona Senate, has voted twice to uphold the Biden Administration rule, which protects the ESG investment approach. However, his action also benefits the business he invested in with a close friend and benefactor. In 2019, Gallego invested up to $50,000 in private stock in Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC, a financial technology startup that collaborates with FDIC-member institutions. Although Gallego was required to reveal assets worth more than $1,000, he did not include the acquisition in his financial disclosure form until 2022.
Forbes reports that Aspiration, launched in 2013 as a “digital bank for environmentally conscious consumers,” has shifted its focus to the sale of carbon credits. It is one of the few fintech firms fully embracing ESG investing. Aspiration revealed in a report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that approximately 70% of its revenue originates from ESG services. Gallego’s friend and benefactor, Joe Sanberg, is a co-founder and co-owner of the company. Sanberg has donated over $20,000 to Gallego’s campaigns and leadership PAC since 2014.
Gallego has shares in the Aspiration Redwood Fund, a “100% fossil fuel-free ESG fund” with high fees and lackluster performance, according to his most recent financial disclosure. He also holds non-publicly traded shares in Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC. According to his tax returns, Gallego has earned as much as $12,200 from his Aspiration shares since 2017.
Gallego’s colleague’s communications director told Fox News Digital that his two votes against H.J. Res. 30, which would have blocked a Labor Department rule allowing employers to consider ESG factors when choosing investments for workers’ retirement plans, were the result of Republican messaging passed with Republican votes. However, the combined resolution did have backing from both parties. Some Democrats voted for it, including Rep. Jared Golden and Sens. Jon Tester and Joe Manchin.
Aspiration also runs the Aspiration Impact Foundation, a charity that has donated money to radical causes. The organization donated $1,000 to the Trevor Project to support climate change projects and gave $5,000 to the climate activist group 350 New Orleans. Republicans have made ESG banking a target and aim to introduce legislation barring banks from refusing equitable access to financial services based on woke corporate cancel culture. They believe that banks should make lending decisions based on objective, risk-based metrics, not the standards of woke corporate cancel culture.