Vivek Ramaswamy's firm courts GOP officials as he pushes businesses to stay out of politics

cnbc.com:

Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy built his White House bid around urging companies to stay out of politics.

What he doesn't tell voters is the asset management firm he co-founded has engaged more with Republican Party officials behind the scenes than was previously known, according to private email correspondence reviewed by CNBC.

The emails show how the firm, Strive Asset Management, became a lead organizer and voice against environmental, social and governance, or ESG, investing,both before and since Ramaswamy entered the presidential race in February.

Ramaswamy told CNBC in an interview Thursday that he stepped away from his role as executive chairman of the firm and is no longer on its board while he runs for president.

When he launched his company last year, Ramaswamy told CNBC that businesses should «focus on excellence over politics.»He slammed ESG-style investingby BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard, and accused the firms ofusing «their clients' capital to advocate for viewpoints in the boardrooms of corporate America that most of their own clients disagree with.»

Ramaswamy and his firm have since jumped into the political clash over ESG investing platforms, according to the emails, which were obtained by watchdog Documented and provided to CNBC. The messages show Ramaswamy's firm actively engaged with GOP state leaders who have defended the fossil fuel industry and criticized environmentally conscious investment standards.

Ramaswamy on Thursday defended the firm's engagement with GOP officials, saying bigger firms BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street have conducted similar practices with state officials across the country.

«The biggest asset allocators into the asset management systems are state