Matt Cole: ‘A social and political agenda is being pushed into corporate

Corporate America has increasingly been influenced by left-wing political movements, ESG-focused investing, DEI practices and stakeholder capitalism, all of which are costing Americans money, Matt Cole, CEO of Columbus, Ohio-based Strive Asset Management argues.

The firm, originally founded by entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, has about $1.6 billion in assets under management.

Cole sat down with FOX Business to discuss how the company is changing the face of asset management and fighting back against woke corporate policies.

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“There’s a need for an asset management company, and really a financial services company like Strive, because ESG, DEI and other non-financial interests have been pushed into corporate America at the expense of the everyday investor. So, people buy ETFs, they buy mutual funds, they entrust their money with the wealth manager. And unbeknownst to them, a social and political agenda is being pushed into corporate America with their money,” he warned. 

“So, right now we have 13 different ETF exchange traded products that trade on the New York Stock Exchange and are available to purchase in someone’s Schwab account, Fidelity account through their financial adviser, potentially through their 401(k) program, depending on your 401(k) program.” 

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Cole believes the European model of stakeholder capitalism poses a serious threat to American investors and their ability to retire on schedule.

“So, upstream of the ESG and DEI debate is a debate of what is the purpose of a for-profit corporation?” Cole said. “American capitalism, free-market capitalism … or moving towards the European model of stakeholder capitalism. … And what’s happened is that most large asset managers have made public statements of support for moving American capitalism towards the European model. 

“If you look at the returns of European equities relative to American equities over the last 40 years, what you’ll find is that there’s an over 2,000% return difference. It’s about 3.5% per year. But that compounds year after year after year. 

“And if you think about that, the average person starts their career in their 20s. They want to retire in their 60s. That’s 40 years. Two thousand percent return difference is the difference between being able to retire securely or not. … And Strive’s belief is American capitalism outperforms.”

Cole is optimistic about future pushback against woke corporate policies.