They serve a public purpose - it's something people (citizens = voters) can use to shield themselves from economic bullshit ruining their lives by limiting their financial exposure.

I don't really see the value in having millions of entities working on a goal such as changing the course of climate change in their own (and thus inefficient) way. I think it's much better to let these entities focus on what they do best, and then take money from them, and use it to further these goals in a much more optimal way.