COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Americans are reeling from record gas prices at $5 per gallon on average - an almost 50% increase so far in 2022. On Independence Day, Strive Asset Management kicked off its five-week national education campaign to draw attention to the American energy crisis and how U.S. citizens are unknowingly contributing to the problem through their investment accounts.
Strive’s national campaign includes a series of digital videos - the first launched over the holiday weekend - to raise awareness on the domestic energy crisis. Vivek Ramaswamy, co-founder and executive chairman of Strive, will be traveling the U.S. over the next five weeks, speaking to Americans about how they can make a difference and regain energy independence. He will complete the campaign with a keynote address at the EnerCom Denver conference, regarded as one of the country’s leading energy investment conferences. During the keynote address, Vivek will unveil shareholder resolutions to unlock the potential of the U.S Energy sector by rectifying damage inflicted on this sector by large asset managers.
The campaign focuses on a core issue of the energy crisis - Americans, through their investment accounts, are investing in asset managers like BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard, whose shareholder voting and engagement behaviors have effectively caused U.S. energy companies to produce less oil and natural gas in the U.S., creating the spike in prices. BlackRock and State Street are paid members of the $60 trillion Climate Action 100+ Network, which represents over 50% of global assets under management and pressures companies to adopt emissions caps and other measures that contribute to rising U.S. energy costs. According to BlackRock’s Investor Progress Report, nearly 120 million Americans are invested in just their iShares products alone.
In 2021, activist firm Engine No. 1 held a 0.02% stake in Exxon and won three seats on their 12-member board, aided by shareholder votes from BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard. Since that time, Exxon scaled back long-term production targets, keeping oil output at the lowest level in two decades, furthering the energy crisis Americans face today.
“The same large asset managers who pressure U.S. companies to adopt climate change strategies by reducing oil and gas production stay notably silent as their Chinese portfolio companies behave in the opposite manner. American citizens are left holding the bag twice, both as investors and as consumers at the pump,” said Ramaswamy. “Strive is now embarking on a national education campaign to restore U.S. energy security by reviving the voices of everyday citizens and investors in our economy, starting with the U.S. energy sector.”
Americans do not just vote in November at the polls, they vote every day with how they choose to allocate their investment dollars. Today their money is often used by large asset managers to erode U.S. energy independence and increase their own energy bills. Once American citizens realize how their own asset managers are jeopardizing their financial interests, they will be empowered to seek solutions.
For more information on Strive Asset Management visit StriveFunds.com.
About Strive Asset Management
Strive is an Ohio-based asset management firm whose mission is to restore the voices of everyday citizens in the American economy by leading companies to focus on excellence over politics. Strive will compete directly with the world’s largest asset managers by launching index funds that advance Excellence Capitalism in boardrooms across corporate America. The company was co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy and Anson Frericks in 2022 and expects to launch its first index fund in the third quarter. Learn more at StriveFunds.com.
