Attorney General Bailey leads fight against hidden ESG and DEI agendas in corporate America JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has announced that his office has launched an investigation and filed parallel lawsuits against two foreign-owned proxy advisory firms, Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), to ensure their compliance with lawful demands for information related to their promotion of radical environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agendas. While presenting themselves as neutral advisors, both companies have used their influence to push far-left DEI and ESG agendas into corporate boardrooms under the guise of impartial investment advice.
“Missourians deserve answers as to why the unseen power brokers, controlling much of corporate America, are pushing a leftist worldview at the expense of millions of honest investors,” said Attorney General Bailey. “Glass Lewis and ISS have evaded scrutiny for too long. Missouri is using every tool under the law to force compliance. These are foreign-owned actors manipulating the U.S. economy, and we will not let them thrive any longer.”
Glass Lewis and ISS control more than 97 percent of the U.S. proxy advisory market, effectively creating a duopoly. These firms specialize in providing voting recommendations to institutional investors, such as pension funds, retirement systems, and mutual funds, on how to vote their shares at corporate shareholder meetings. This includes decisions on board member elections, executive compensation, company policies, and environmental proposals.
Because many large investment funds automatically follow these recommendations, Glass Lewis and ISS wield outsized influence over the direction of American corporate governance, without ever owning a single share themselves. Their recommendations can determine whether a board member is elected, whether a company adopts a new DEI hiring mandate, or whether it shifts focus toward an environmental agenda and away from profitability. For Missouri families and retirees whose pensions are invested in publicly traded companies, this means their financial futures may be indirectly shaped by the political and ideological biases of two foreign-owned firms.
Both Glass Lewis and ISS have advanced radical ESG and DEI priorities that often run counter to shareholder value, recommending shareholder proposals that would force companies to adopt race- and gender-based hiring quotas, carbon disclosure mandates, and aggressive climate activism policies. Publicly available materials and past voting recommendations confirm this behavior. These are not isolated incidents; they represent a coordinated pattern of ideological activism dressed up as financial guidance. Corporate leaders, fearing backlash or shareholder pressure, often feel compelled to accept these proposals, even when doing so risks undercutting company performance or violating fiduciary duties.
Previous investigations by state attorneys general have been stonewalled by these firms. Because of this track record of noncompliance, Attorney General Bailey is simultaneously launching a formal investigation under Missouri’s Merchandising Practices Act (§ 407.020, RSMo) and filing suit in Cole County Circuit Court to compel full cooperation with the Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs).
The legal actions build on the Attorney General’s ongoing work to protect consumers from the economic consequences of politicized investing. The Office has previously taken action against companies such as Starbucks, IBM, BlackRock, and Vanguard for the unlawful use of DEI and ESG in their corporate strategies. These lawsuits prompted the Office to investigate and dig deeper to uncover the root of the problem. Over time, it has become increasingly apparent that proxy advisors like Glass Lewis and ISS share significant blame for the disastrous drift towards DEI and ESG in corporate America.
“We are going after the source,” concluded Attorney General Bailey. “These proxy advisors have held corporate America hostage with their radical ideologies. We are putting them on notice: Missouri will not tolerate ideological coercion disguised as investment guidance.” The full lawsuit against Glass Lewis can be read here: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/25AC-CC05436-Petition-to-Enforce-CID-GL.pdf
The full lawsuit against Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) can be read here: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/25AC-CC05437-Petition-to-Enforce-CID-ISS.pdf
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