Investors ditch woke causes after Donald Trump’s victory

Investors are turning their backs on woke causes following Donald Trump’s US election victory.

A report by investment bank Jefferies said fund managers are more willing to speak out against environmental, social and governance (ESG) and diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) issues.

Analysts at the broker described the trend as a ‘stampede from wokeism’ that has been accelerated by Trump’s re-election.

The shift was reinforced this week when Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg said he will ditch fact checkers on Facebook and Instagram, saying they were ‘too politically biased’.

Christopher Wood, an analyst at Jefferies, said: ‘It can legitimately be described as the stampede from wokeism.

‘Since Donald Trump’s decisive electoral victory in November, [we] have noticed a change in behaviour in continuing meetings with investors.

Change of direction: Analysts described the trend as a ‘stampede from wokeism’ that has been accelerated by Donald Trump’s re-election

‘Fund managers are increasingly willing to say what they really think, even in the presence of colleagues, on such politically charged issues as environmental, social, and governance, or diversity, equity, and inclusion.’

Zuckerberg and other tech founders are seeking to cosy up to Trump – who was previously banned from Facebook – before he returns to the White House later his month. The President-elect and his Republican allies have slammed Meta for what they have branded the censorship of Right-wing views.

Wood added: ‘Meta will now presumably no longer need to employ the so-called content moderators who, from a shareholder perspective, were a complete waste of money’.

Trump’s election has been a shot in the arm for a trend that has been brewing the in the US and has started to take hold in the UK.

Some London-listed firms have begun to move away from ‘woke’ initiatives amid investor backlash. Last year Unilever watered down its targets on plastic packaging, workers’ pay and diversity.

The £95billion giant, which owns brands including Dove and Hellmann’s, had previously pushed the idea that businesses should do good in the world.

But investors including star fund manager Terry Smith accused the firm of ‘losing the plot’ and prioritising it’s woke credentials over shareholder returns.

In the fourth quarter of last year, investors pulled £1.3billion out of ESG funds, according to research by global funds network Calastone.

That came after outflows of £261m in the previous quarter, and inflows of nearly £4.5billion in the first half of the year.