The Alliance for Prosperity and a Secure Retirement (APSR) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to defending environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in pension fund investments. It is led by Tim Hill, a former labor union official.

It explicitly criticizes boycotts of ESG investments led by Republican governors and state legislatures in red states, ¹ referring to them as “politiciz[ing] pension funds” and warning of supposed “long-term implications.” ²

Background

The Alliance for Prosperity and a Secure Retirement (APSR) was founded in April 2024. ³

APSR criticizes boycotts of ESG investments led by Republican governors and state legislatures in red states, ¹ referring to them as “politiciz[ing] pension funds” and warning of their “long-term implications.” It claims said boycotts will have “unintended, fiscal consequences” and will “drastically” curtail the possible financial returns of teachers, nurses, police officers, and other municipal workers. It also criticizes states that have revoked holdings in oil and gas companies without concern for return on investment. ²

Activities

To oppose boycotts of ESG investments in pension funds, the Alliance for Prosperity and a Secure Retirement intends to “tell real-life stories of individual investors and retirees” and advocate for ESG investment on the basis that it will benefit the pension funds of retired municipal workers along with workers from other sectors. It also aims to teach people about pension investments and explain why they should support ESG investments. ²

APSR cited a study from the Jacobs Levy Equity Management Center for Quantitative Financial Research that claimed that Texas’s 2021 law which restricted the state government from entering into contacts with ESG-aligned institutions had “immediate and negative” consequences on the state’s borrowing ability. “Such laws base investment decisions on politics instead of financial benefit, limiting what’s available for beneficiaries like teachers, firefighters, police, and other public pension participants,” APSR wrote. ²

APSR encourages supporters to get in contact and share their personal stories, promising to make their stories heard by relevant policymakers. ²

Leadership

As of 2024, Tim Hill was the president of the Alliance for Prosperity and a Secure Retirement. ASPR states that he has served as a volunteer advisor to multiple state and local officials, and has served on nonprofit boards as well as state and local commissions. ² Hill was previously the director of the International Association of Fire Fighters’ Pension Resources Department and the former executive vice president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona & Phoenix Local 493. He served in the Phoenix Fire Department as a firefighter. ⁴

Other board members in 2024 included Ray O’Brocki, a retired assistant fire chief of the Baltimore City Fire Department and a former trustee of the Baltimore City Fire and Police System, and Glen Middleton, a former executive director of AFSCME MD Council 67 and a retired international vice president of AFSCME. ⁴

1.  “Conservative Attacks On Environmental, Social And Governance (ESG) Investing.” American Oversight, last updated August 17, 2023. Accessed May 31, 2024. https://www.americanoversight.org/investigation/conservative-attacks-on-environmental-social-and-governance-esg-investing.
2. “FAQ.” Alliance for Prosperity and a Secure Retirement (APSR). Accessed May 31, 2024. https://www.prosperityretirementalliance.com/faq/.
3. Demasters. Karen. “New Group Aims To Keep Politics Out Of Pension Investing.” Financial Advisor (FA). May 14, 2024. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://www.fa-mag.com/news/pension-fund-investment-should-not-be-dictated-by-political-agendas–a-nonprofit-organization-says-78066.html.
4. “About.” Alliance for Prosperity and a Secure Retirement (APSR). Accessed May 31, 2023. https://www.prosperityretirementalliance.com/about/.