Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday announced a settlement resolving part of a lawsuit alleging three of the world’s largest asset managers had manipulated the energy market to limit U.S. coal production.
A coalition of states, led by Texas, sued Vanguard, State Street and BlackRock in late 2024, claiming the companies had leveraged their investments in eight publicly traded coal companies to slash production, which in turn led to increased energy prices for American consumers. The settlement removes Vanguard from the case.
Paxton, a Republican, called the settlement one of the most significant enforcement actions taken against environmental-social-and-governance-driven market manipulation. Vanguard said the settlement reaffirmed its existing business practices.
“While Vanguard has taken appropriate action to resolve this case, BlackRock and State Street have continued to ignore state laws, engage in anticompetitive schemes that hurt American energy, and undermine those who use their services to invest,” Paxton said in a statement Thursday.
