Reuters advocates that BlackRock’s Fink should not “wake up” stakeholder capitalism

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By Akriti Sharma and Ross Kerbe

(Reuters) – Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock Inc. (NYSE :), has advocated for a shareholder movement that encourages the company to focus on the company’s interests and profits.

In his annual open letter, Fink took up issues he had heard from other CEOs in previous January’s missives to find a purpose and consider issues such as climate change as part of what is known as stakeholder capitalism.

“Interested capitalism is not about politics,” Fink said Monday night in a letter titled The Power of Capitalism. “It’s not ‘waking up.’ It’s capitalism.”

Fink, 69, advocated BlackRock’s stance rather than completely disinvesting in companies in the carbon transition, saying the company itself could not be a “climate police” but should work with governments.

“Selling from whole sectors or simply shifting carbon-intensive assets from public markets to private markets is not going to get the world to zero,” he said. “And BlackRock has no policy of divesting from oil and gas companies.”

With $ 10 trillion overseen as of Dec. 31, the world’s largest asset manager has become one of the most influential voices on U.S. and European boards, making Fink’s annual letter a must-read for the director.

In a letter Monday, Fink outlined plans to launch a Stakeholder Capitalism for Center to create a “forum for research, dialogue and discussion.” The center will help examine the relationship between companies and their stakeholders, he said.

Fink also said that BlackRock is working to expand an initiative to use proxy voting technology for investors.

After years of criticism from activists focused on climate and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, BlackRock shifted its path in 2021 and provided a much more critical set of proxy votes, such as spill reports or advocacy calls for staff to raise awareness. diversity data.

At the same time, the fund manager has faced challenges from conservative U.S. politicians. On Monday, West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore said her agency would no longer use the BlackRock liquidity fund, where it had last saved $ 21.8 million since Jan. 6.

In a statement, Moore referred to BlackRock’s dealings in China and said “BlackRock has asked companies to adopt ‘zero net’ investment strategies that would harm coal, oil and industry.”

A BlackRock spokesman declined to comment. The company agreed in December that continued investment in fossil fuels would be needed.