1792 Insights
The 1792 Exchange is committed to delivering sharp, data-driven analysis of corporate America’s political entanglements. Discover what investors, executives, and concerned citizens should know regarding why businesses should return to neutral, mission-focused operations.
Faith-Aligned Investors, Big Tech, and the Fight Against Child Exploitation
July 8, 2026Some advocates say investors shouldn’t underestimate shareholders’ ability to sway a company’s views. Dustin DeVito is the director of research at the nonprofit 1792 Exchange, which encourages corporations to promote free speech, freedom of religion, and free enterprise. He said company executives sometimes aren’t aware of what’s happening down in the trenches of their businesses’ day-to-day operations, and all they may need is for shareholders to bring a concern to their attention. “When issues are being voted on at a company’s annual general meeting, if you have shares in a company, you have a vote,” explained DeVito. “If you have shares, you have the ability to get in touch with investor relations … [and] have those conversations with the executives.” DeVito also said that CSAM is a new part of the social discussion—one that companies don’t have decades of experience dealing with. “People have not really been taking this seriously or talking about it in a comprehensive way until very recently,” DeVito said. “So just based on just where these companies have been over the past few years, I think there really is a chance for people to have direct engagements with the executives.” The full article can be found …
The Course of ESG Investing
July 8, 2026As ESG-related practices have come under increasing scrutiny in the United States and abroad, newly released data paints a clearer picture of the current state of ESG investing. Two realities stand out: Perhaps the clearest example of the ESG exodus lies in the investor movement away from ESG mutual funds. These funds have bled $65.7 billion since 2022, roughly 20% of their average assets. Additionally, new fund launches have collapsed from 116 in 2021 to just nine last year, and BlackRock has slashed its support for ESG shareholder proposals from 40% in 2021 to less than 2% (7/358) in 2025. Even the 2026 proxy season backs this up: no ESG proposal won majority support. But this does not mean ESG will disappear. Many of its most committed proponents are doubling down, pursuing ESG through less visible channels, or lying low until a more favorable political and regulatory environment emerges. For example, CalPERS has all but dropped the word “ESG,” now calling it “sustainability integration,” while still on track to nearly double its climate-related holdings to $100 billion by 2030. BlackRock’s Larry Fink stopped using the term too, calling it “weaponized.” The rhetoric has cooled, but the strategy has not. Investors have …
1792 Exchange applauds the meaningful progress at Charles Schwab
July 8, 2026Inspire Investing deserves strong credit for years of dedicated corporate engagement and a broader commitment to policies that advance human dignity, viewpoint diversity, and long-term shareholder value. Inspire began engaging Schwab in 2023, constructively raising key issues around political neutrality, employee benefits, and workplace culture. Their persistence helped bring these matters forward and supported productive, ongoing dialogue with the company. We especially commend Charles Schwab for their action to stop covering medical gender interventions for minors and to exit the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. The company confirmed to Inspire that its current self-insured health plan, as well as third-party administered plans available to employees, no longer cover gender-transition surgeries or pharmaceutical treatments for minors. Schwab has also ceased participation in the HRC’s index. These steps reflect strong leadership in refocusing on core business priorities rather than ideological agendas. The company further clarified that religious organizations remain eligible for its employee gift-matching program. Based on these developments, Inspire withdrew its shareholder proposal. Schwab is to be applauded as only the second major company we know to publicly taking this step to protect minors (after Walmart). We know other companies have taken or are considering taking similar action, and we encourage …
The Full CEI Equality 100 List
July 8, 2026A verified 100 on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index means the employer has adopted every policy on the Human Rights Campaign’s checklist. To score 100, an employer must, among other things, cover gender-transition procedures in its health plans with no exclusions (including minor dependents). HRC can also strip points for any activity it deems to “undermine” LGBTQ+ equality. The CEI is voluntary. Companies choose to log into the HRC portal and submit public and private company documents for a rating. The HRC expands the criteria every few years, meaning a 100 over time indicates continual adoption of new policies and practices it introduces. A&O Shearman Attentive Mobile Inc. Avita Care Solutions Box Inc. ClearView Healthcare Partners Factor Systems, LLC dba Billtrust Griffith Foods Group Inc. The Hanover Insurance Group Inc. Hitachi Digital Services Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Linklaters Mayer Brown LLP MERGE Moderna Inc. Neuberger Berman Group LLC NTT DATA Services, LLC PGA TOUR, Inc. PointClickCare Technologies Inc. Publicis Health RBC Capital Markets RBC Wealth Management Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC Steptoe LLP Sutherland Global Services Inc. List based on data from Human Rights Campaign as of July 8, 2026.
ESG Rating Inconsistencies and Their Ideological Ends
July 7, 2026Allen Mendenhall’s recent piece on MSCI ranking SpaceX in the same ESG tier as Russia asks a fair question: how does a rocket company advancing American innovation get scored the same as a state waging war? Unbeknownst to many, inconsistencies are common when it comes to ESG portfolios and ratings. In 2022, S&P dropped Tesla from its S&P 500 ESG Index while ExxonMobil landed in the top ten. The EV maker scored worse on an “Environmental, Social, Governance” rating than a major oil company. In fact, according to MIT Sloan’s Aggregate Confusion Project, ESG ratings from major agencies correlate at only about 0.61. Compare that to credit ratings from Moody’s and S&P, which agree 99% of the time. Companies often receive vastly different ESG rating scores from ratings providers, even ones that share a pro-ESG bias. These are the kinds of inconsistencies that led Elon Musk, CEO of the second-largest electric vehicle manufacturer in the world, to declare that ESG is a scam. Mendenhall concludes himself: the SpaceX rating shows ESG functioning less as “socially conscious investing” and more as “a mechanism for advancing ideological ends.”
Is Corporate America Hostile Toward Christians?
July 7, 2026In this episode of the Christian Business Leader podcast, Doug Napier, Executive Chairman and CEO of 1792 Exchange, joined host Darren Shearer to discuss the mission of helping businesses get back to business. The conversation explores how corporations can move away from activist pressures and refocus on their primary business objectives. Key Topics Discussed: Napier emphasizes that companies are often pushed into these agendas by external activists and that by providing a clear, risk-mitigated roadmap, the 1792 Exchange is helping them reclaim their focus on business excellence.