Brown Advisory - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Brown Advisory is High Risk.

Brown Advisory is is High Risk. The company yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. The company embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	High Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	High Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	No Data

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

In August 2022, Texas placed one or more funds from Brown Advisory on its List of Financial Companies that Boycott Energy Companies list. The Comptroller’s office examined publicly available data, including licensed information from Bloomberg, LSEG Workspace, and MSCI, to identify U.S.-based funds that appear to restrict or prohibit investments in energy companies. However, in February 2026, a federal judge in Austin issued a ruling prohibiting enforcement of SB 13, the law that allowed the Texas Comptroller to create and maintain its Financial Companies that Boycott Energy Companies list. The court held that the law infringed upon First and Fourteenth Amendment protections. The plaintiffs argued that SB 13 unlawfully penalized financial firms for engaging in protected speech and investment decisions related to ESG policies, effectively compelling viewpoint-based certifications to do business with the state. The State of Texas, however, contended that SB 13 represented a lawful exercise of its authority to direct state investments and contracting decisions and to protect the state’s energy industry from what it characterized as discriminatory financial practices. In February 2026, the Texas Comptroller’s Office and the Texas Attorney General’s Office appealed the ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case remains pending (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). Brown Advisory received a score of 85 on the 2025 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a political stakeholder group. The company recruits employees based on sexual identity issues. The company discriminates against vendors that do not promote divisive sex and gender policies, indicating it prioritizes sexual issues over merit (6)(7). The company is a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment, incorporating ESG issues into investment analysis, decision-making, and other business practices (8)(9). However, the company has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (10).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Brown Advisory‘s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company will not donate to non-religious charities unless they embrace controversial sexual identity policies (1)(2). The company does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs. The company’s charitable giving focus areas are environmental causes, gender equity, and justice (3).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Brown Advisory‘s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company forces employees to attend multiple, controversial trainings on gender identity, sexual orientation, transgender issues, and divisive racial ideology. The company provides gender transition guidelines for its employees and a specific benefits guide with a comprehensive explanation of transgender services funded by the company (1)(2). The company does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (3).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Brown Advisory was part of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative prior to NZAM’s suspension in 2025. Its membership indicated a commitment to carbon neutrality with its investments by 2050 (1)(2)(3). The company is a member of Climate Action 100+, committed to carbon neutrality by 2050 (4). The company is a Ceres Network Member (5). The company scored a 100 out of 100 on the 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a political stakeholder group (6)(7).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Brown Advisory‘s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company covers transgender related costs for its employees and their children, including paid short-term leave, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, chest surgeries, genital surgeries, medical visits and lab monitoring, travel and lodging. By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company increases health care costs and risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders (1)(2). The company is a corporate partner of the NGLCC (3). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (4).