Larry Fink, the most powerful man in the Bag, and professes now faith green. The president of BlackRock, the largest fund manager in the world with assets under management of nearly seven billion dollars, threatening to penalise the listed companies that do not take measures to curb its contribution to climate change. “We will be ever more willing to vote against the management team and the members of the council when the companies do not progress enough in the disclosure of information about sustainability”, he recalls in his annual letter to the presidents and ceos of the main companies in the world.
Fink ensures that due to global warming and its impact on the economic growth and prosperity “we are at the dawn of a rethinking of finance since its foundation.” In this sense, the president of BlackRock, remember that investors are increasingly taken into account the environmental policies of the enterprise”, and are aware that the climate factor is a risk of investment”, which leads them to a “thorough review” of the hazard and the assets. “And given that the capital markets anticipate future risks, we will see changes in the allocation of capital long before that camibos climate itself. Short-term -and earlier than many expected – there will be a significant reallocation of capital”, adventure in their letter.
“We are at the dawn of a redefinition of the finance from its foundations”
In a fiduciary capacity, Fink, remember that the responsibility of the manager who leads is to help customers weather the transition to a world more committed to the environment. “From the point of view of investment, we are convinced that portfolios that integrate sustainability and climate issues can provide investors with better returns adjusted to risk”.
Fink underlines in the letter that the investors need to have a more clear idea about the way in which companies are managing the issues concerning the sostenibiidad. In your opinion, these data must go beyond the weather and cover aspects on how to respond to the companies before all interest groups (stakeholders), such as the degree of diversisad of its workforce, the sustainability of the supply chain or the data protection of its customers. In addition, insist on a topic that already highlighted in letters from previous years: listed companies must understand that they have a role to play in society. “A company cannot achieve long-term benefits without a purpose and without taking into account the needs of a broad range of stakeholders”.
“In the short term -and earlier than many expected – there will be a significant reallocation of capital”
When a company does not address effectively a problem of relevance as climate change is, its directors must be accountable for this, according to Fink. “In the past year, BlackRock voted against or abstained in the election of 4,800 directors at 2,700 companies different. When we consider that companies and directors are not disclosing sustainability information effectively or are not implemented frameworks to manage these issues, we feel responsible to the members of the council”.
transparency, which requires Fink in the field of sustainability should help investors to assess how companies respond to their interest groups, which configure the way in which are mapped the flows of capital. “However, transparency is not can be an object devoid of purpose. The presentation of information should be the means to achieve a capitalism more sustainable and inclusive”, he concludes.
BlackRock is, together with the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund reports, the main owner of shares in the Spanish Stock market, Among other holdings, owns the 5,08% of the share capital of Santander Bank, 5.48% of the BBVA, the 5,03% of Telefónica, the 5,07% of Iberdrola and 4,76% of Repsol, according to the records of the National Commission of the Market of Values (CNMV).
