In December 2020, BlackRock, the world’s biggest manager of money ($7trillion and counting) issued an update to its approach to engaging with corporations. Crucially, BlackRock indicated it will be more inclined to vote in favor of shareholder resolutions on climate and social issues.
So what?
Long considered a laggard by many impact investors and groups advocating more responsible investment, this might represent a subtle but important shift in BlackRock’s strategy. Over the course of the second half of 2020, the firm had supported the vast majority of environmental shareholder proposals, and if this trend continues, the signal this sends to other investors and businesses should not be underestimated, particularly in the lead up to COP26.
Sources
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A $7 trillion climate change warning to the stock market from its biggest shareholder https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/13/climate-change-a-7-trillion-warning-from-markets-biggest-investor.html -
Proxy voting records challenge asset managers’ responsible investment claims - ShareAction https://shareaction.org/proxy-voting-records-challenge-asset-managers-responsible-investment-claims/
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