Virginia Foxx: “My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have made many claims about the supposed advantages of ESG, just now saying…”

“My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have made many claims about the supposed advantages of ESG, just now saying that ESG funds tend to do better. Well, let me set the record straight. ESG funds have underperformed for years. According to a Bloomberg report, the 10 largest ESG funds posted double-digit losses in 2022, and 8 of the 10 performed worse than the S&P 500. It is no surprise that in 2023, according to The New York Times, investors pulled $13 billion out of ESG funds. Another study from Boston University found there is little reason to infer that ESG criteria is reliable for predicting stock returns. I think it is really important to set the record straight. To make matters worse, ESG products charge higher fees to participants than traditional investment funds, which can significantly reduce participants' retirement savings over time. Finally, according to researchers at George Mason University, ESG funds expose workers and retirees to additional investment risk. Increased costs, increased risk, and lackluster returns make for a bad cocktail. Weakening the investment portfolios is not what we should be doing here. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).”