We applaud the comment filed by Doug Chia on the importance of transparency in the names of would-be and so-called ESG funds.

He points out that PIMCO’s “Total Return ESG Fund” has a name that does not reveal its exclusion of reproductive health-related companies. Prospective investors have to dig into the materials to see:

the Fund will not invest in the securities of any non-governmental issuer determined by [the fund manager] to be engaged principally in the provision of healthcare services or the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, unless the issuer derives 100% of its gross revenues from products or services designed to protect and improve the quality of human life, as determined on the basis of information available to [the fund manager]. This generally prohibits investments in healthcare service and/or pharmaceutical manufacturing issuers that derive gross revenue from products or services related to abortion, abortifacients, contraceptives or stem cell research.