'Investment companies will not push their political agenda on Mississippians,' says Michael Watson The state of Mississippi has issued a cease and desist order to trillion-dollar asset manager BlackRock, alleging the firm has committed fraud by misleading investors through its climate policies. Late on Tuesday, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson's office delivered the order and a notice of intent to impose an administrative penalty — which could amount to a first-of-its-kind multimillion-dollar fine — against BlackRock, an action targeting so-called environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. Watson claims BlackRock has repeatedly misled Mississippi investors pertaining to its broader ESG...