UT Treasurer, Marlo Oaks penned this great op-ed published in today’s print edition of the Wall Street Journal. He challenges the validity of “Natural Asset Companies,” and raises the concern that approval of these vehicles will create significant market distortions.

Companies That Can’t Make Money

The SEC pushes a plan to misallocate capital by buying land and taking it out of productive use.

By Utah State Secretary, Marlo Oaks | Published in the Wall Street Journal

“The Biden administration last month began laying the groundwork for a misguided plan that threatens to misallocate vast amounts of capital, encumber natural resources, and destroy rural economies by removing land from productive use in the name of solving climate change.

On Sept. 27, the New York Stock Exchange quietly submitted a substantial and financially material proposed change to its rules. The proposal would allow the formation of a new type of company. Natural Asset Companies, or NACs, would purchase the rights to control public and private lands, such as parks, forests and farms. But a NAC wouldn’t be able to put the land to economic use. Instead, it would preserve its acquisitions to maximize the value of the land’s “ecological services.”

Continue reading on WSJ (requires subscription)