Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis has taken a hard stance against Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards, ordering asset managers in the Florida Deferred Compensation Plan to refrain from investing participants' compensation in any financial products related to ESG. The Deferred Compensation Plan is the supplemental retirement plan for employees of the State of Florida and currently encompasses 93,000 state employees with total assets of $5.1 billion.

The move comes in response to ESG's alleged undemocratic values, which run counter to the values of everyday citizens, according to Patronis. Additionally, he claims the unchecked growth of ESG has hindered investment funds from reaching their best returns.

"We've been boiled like a frog for too long, and it's time to hop out of the pot," Patronis said. "That's why today I directed that asset managers involved with Florida's Deferred Compensation program may not unilaterally direct participants' cash into funds associated with ESG standards.”

The directive orders all participating asset managers to remove ESG investment funds as options for participants in the Deferred Compensation Plan. The move reinforces Florida's earlier efforts to move state pension funds and other sources of capital away from ESG-compliant investing and towards more "traditional" investment goals. For many investors, this could create a legal and regulatory challenge to navigate, thus further testing their capacity to maximize returns while staying compliant with conflicting standards.