More than $218 million worth of Connecticut state pension fund investments will be divested from Russian-owned assets in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, state Treasurer Shawn Wooden said Tuesday.
Wooden joins officials in many other U.S. states who are pulling state investments from Russian companies while encouraging private entities to do the same.
“Eliminating our holdings of Russian assets is not only a moral imperative but the current crisis also constitutes a substantial risk for Connecticut’s investments, our national policy and economic security,” Wooden said in a statement.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin “needs to know that the free world stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and that Putin’s abhorrent actions will have enduring, harrowing economic consequences in the days, months, and years ahead.”
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Wooden oversees all state pension funds, valued at more than $47 billion. He said the state will be divesting pension fund investments it has in companies based in Russia as well as in sovereign debt issued by Russia.
The biggest pension fund investments in Russian-owned assets include $78 million in oil, gas and consumable food securities, $68 million in metals and mining securities and $53 million in Russian sovereign bonds, the treasurer’s office said.
