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We use the setting of a new Texas law to investigate the economic substance behind the current, heightened political debate around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. In September 2021, the Texas legislature directed its state agencies to divest from investment companies that allegedly promote ESG causes and “boycott” energy stocks. On August 24, 2022, the Texas comptroller announced the specific list of banned funds. Among them, we examine those that invest in US equities and compare their characteristics against a control sample of size-matched mutual funds that also invest in US equites. We find that banned funds carry titles suggesting an ESG focus. However,(i) banned funds are largely indexers with a tilt slightly away from energy stocks, even though their energy exposure is nonzero and economically significant;(ii) the impact of the Texan ban on the fortunes of BlackRock, the only …