Complicity capital: Pensions and Trumpism
When the antidote decides it's richer to be the poison
On a day like today, it’s hard to ignore the forces working against real progress in human dignity and environmental stability. The Democrats may not have led us to a truly sustainable world, but in light of today’s political news, their green-wishing agenda already feels nostalgic.
We must brace for an agenda that risks sliding back into climate denial and economic extraction — an expectation shaped by Trumpism’s track record, now likely emboldened by an even stronger mandate. While pundits, sociologists, and historians will dissect the collective psyche behind such electoral choices, we must also scrutinize the capital that fuels this agenda — complicit through institutional investors like pension funds. For too long, pensions have quietly operated in the background, channeling funds into industries and policies that undermine the very future they’re meant to secure.
Trump’s administration might appear as a singular force driving climate and societal backsliding, but it’s far from isolated. Institutional investors, including pensions, quietly support these outcomes by prioritizing Wall Street’s short-term returns over long-term security — a system that eclipses logic beyond “buy-low-sell-high” and dismisses accountability and future impacts. When pensions funnel capital into sectors that profit from environmental harm, exploitation, and conflict, they fuel the political and economic systems driving us further from climate security.
Fiduciary malpractice — where pensions prioritize speculative, high-return investments over stable, socially responsible choices — directly feeds the cycle of fear and insecurity that underpins Trump’s political messaging. By chasing short-term gains, pension funds frequently invest in sectors that destabilize local economies, offshoring jobs or backing industries that exploit rather than uplift communities. This creates pervasive economic anxiety among workers and retirees, who see their futures jeopardized by forces outside their control. Trump capitalizes on this anxiety, positioning himself as the voice of those betrayed by financial elites and a “rigged” system. The irony is that fiduciary malpractice in pensions, left unchecked, amplifies the very fear Trump uses to stoke division, illustrating the urgent need for reform. A fiduciary economy — grounded in accountability and long-term stability — could counteract this cycle, restoring confidence and dampening fear-based narratives.
Yet the problem goes deeper than Trump or any single administration. This isn’t accidental complicity; it’s a structural choice to prioritize speculative gains over the duty to create a viable future. Many fiduciaries — who collectively manage tens of trillions in value, equaling 30% of the global GDP, and who may have even supported the opposing candidate to defeat Trump — deny this connection outright. Yet, their denial signals a deeper systemic failure. Fiduciaries responsible for funds dedicated to loyalty, care, and impartiality are not taking steps to distance themselves from Trump’s vision. Instead, they hide behind economic traditions that are part of Trump’s genesis story: the monetization of ego. That’s the very opposite of fiduciary obligation.
Bank of Nature isn’t about hopeful reform but about facing this complicity head-on. We’re working to defend pension fiduciaries’ right to prioritize a livable future for their beneficiaries, to challenge practices that push pension capital into destructive investments, and to expose the true cost of these choices. Imagine if pensions actually protected the future they were created to secure, rather than accelerating its demise. Imagine if vast sums weren’t channeled into the very systems driving us to ecological collapse.
Our initiative doesn’t rely on optimism; it’s a response to stark reality. Pensions have a duty to act as stewards of a sustainable future, not as enablers of its dismantling. They also have the power to do so — arguably more so than any politician or agency. At Bank of Nature, we aren’t offering a comforting story about transformation. We’re presenting a hard truth: pension capital, if unchecked, will continue to erode the future it promises to protect. The time to reimagine the role of pensions isn’t just overdue — it’s essential for any chance at a stable society.
Thank you, Ian, for discussing a subject about which I know very little. Your lead-in picture captures how many of us are feeling today. But of course we must unite and continue to make our world more sustainable. One more day . . .