New 'anti-woke' investment fund takes note of activists' raid on Starbucks, executives announce blueprint for fighting Javanese giant at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort Thursday It is reported that they are planning to announce.
The startup's fund, called the Azoria Meritocracy ETF, will focus on companies in the S&P 500, excluding a few dozen companies whose managers have determined that they have made quantitative diversity efforts in hiring employees. The company plans to invest in the company, CEO James Fishback said in an interview.
Fischbach and Azoria Partners co-founder Asaf Abramovich have compiled a list of about 30 companies to be blacklisted for alleged “misconduct.”
The Financial Times reported Thursday that one of Azoria's targets was Starbucks.
According to the FT, Starbucks denied that it had “goals or quotas at any stage of the hiring process.”
The company told the FT that its goal of achieving at least 30% racial and ethnic diversity in its workforce was merely an aspiration.
Starbucks stock fell less than 1% on Thursday to just under $100.
Fischbach, who worked as a trader at David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital before its acrimonious split in the summer of 2023, is aiming to raise $1 billion by the end of 2025.
“Americans, whether they voted for President Trump or not, don't want to invest in companies that are conducting woke scientific experiments,” Fishback told the Financial Times.
“We represent shareholders here, and human capital employment quotas are hurting all shareholders,” he added. “Stop that crap. Hire the best and brightest people. Make no apologies for it, make money, give it to shareholders, do the right thing.”
The incoming Trump administration has vowed to crack down on controversial DEI initiatives across the federal government, and some companies are worried that they too will be targeted.
The event, held at the president-elect's private members' resort, will feature speakers from Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, a prominent right-wing think tank, and Cathie Wood, founder of Ark Investment Management.
Starbucks stock has soared about 20% since August after the company appointed former Chipotle president Brian Nicol as its new CEO to turn around its troubled business.
Elliott Management, an activist fund owned by Wall Street titan Paul Singer, acquired a stake in the coffee giant, ultimately leading to the ouster of former chief executive Laxman Narasimhan.
Self-styled woke capitalists have frustrated Wall Street Republicans and their allies in recent years, with former presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy taking aim at so-called ESG policies.
Environmental, social, and governance strategies focus on factors such as racial justice and climate change, which conservatives argue have a negative impact on investment by ordinary Americans.
Two anonymous industry analysts were skeptical that a correlation between poor business performance and companies' hiring policies could be proven.
Other investors questioned whether ETFs would gain traction, saying it was unlikely ESG-focused funds would fall out of favor.
“Investors may look further into ESGETFs because they believe the government won't fully support their personal objectives,” said Todd Rosenbluth, head of ETF research at Bettafi.
He declined to comment on the Azoria ETF.
Brian Armor, an ETF analyst at Morningstar, said smaller ETFs may have a harder time gaining influence over U.S. companies.
“It's going to be really hard to gain power and influence,” Armor said.
