Paul Fitzpatrick writes for Real Clear Politics about a welcome development in corporate America.

The tide is turning against woke agendas in corporate America.

Just recently Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley announced that his investment firm – the largest or second largest in the world (depending on how you measure it) – will no longer be committed to ESG, or other “net-zero” initiatives.

“Our research indicates that ESG investing does not have any advantage over broad-based investing,” he said in a recent interview.

This comes after Buckley had previously withdrawn Vanguard from the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative. This initiative, which garnered $59 trillion in commitments from corporations around the world, commits companies to complying with the Paris Agreement’s objective of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Such a commitment, Buckley says, is incompatible with the fiduciary duties of asset managers like Vanguard.

Why? Because ESG funds have simply never outperformed the market as a whole. And yet, they charge outrageous fees claiming to help the planet and other social agendas.

So, one of the world’s biggest asset managers has taken a major step. Shareholders demanding basic financial responsibility applaud Mr. Buckley for it.

We at the 1792 Exchange applaud Mr. Buckley as well. But as President Reagan said, “Trust, but verify.” Vanguard may be removing itself from one net-zero alliance and de-emphasizing ESG, but that’s a long way from no longer supporting woke causes in general. …

… [T]he vast majority of Americans seem greatly opposed to turning corporate America into ideological battlegrounds. Over 75% of those surveyed by the Trafalgar Group/Convention of States Action say they are “more likely” to patronize a business “that stayed politically neutral and tolerated viewpoints of employees and customers across the board.”

Consumers and investors will reward companies that pivot back to a neutral ideological position and return to actual – not greenwashed – financial stewardship.