What you’re referring to is activist investing, or what is more descriptively known in most cases as activist divesting. Activist groups put pressure on funds t

What you’re referring to is activist investing, or what is more descriptively known in most cases as activist divesting. Activist groups put pressure on funds to invest in, or divest from, certain assets. For example, my college’s endowment was invested to varying degrees in the oil/energy industries. A bunch of forestry school grad students organized a “divestment campaign” to pressure the investment office to divest from anti-environment assets. I’m not sure how effective they were in the end, but they sure made a lot of noise. So yes, endowments/pensions/sovereign wealth funds are certainly obligated to listen to their “constituents” if you will, but only by societal contract. A big enough PR storm should be sufficient to drive investment or divestment, if enough people are emotional and aggressive in marketing their argument.