BlackRock Support for Climate, Social Proposals Hits New Low (FundFire)

The firm’s backing for such shareholder proposals plummeted from a high of 47% in 2021 to 4% over the twelve months ending in June amid a political backlash.

BlackRock has drastically cut back its support for proposals put forth by shareholders on environmental and social issues, the Financial Times reports.

The world’s largest asset manager backed just 4%, or 20 of the 493 environmental proposals put forward by shareholders in the twelve months ending in June. That compares to the firm’s peak support of 47% of ESG proposals in 2021, the FT reported, citing an annual stewardship report BlackRock released Wednesday.

https://www.fundfire.com/c/4602324/609264/blackrock_support_climate_social_proposals_hits?referrer_module=emailMorningNews&module_order=1&code=WTIxbGNtdGxja0J5ZDJKaGFYSmtMbU52YlN3Z05UYzNPREU0TXl3Z01UWTFNamMzTmprMk53PT0

Author: Christopher K. Merker, Ph.D., CFA

Christopher K. Merker, PhD, CFA, is a director with Private Asset Management at Robert W. Baird & Co. He holds a PhD in investment governance and fiduciary effectiveness from Marquette University, where he has taught the course “Sustainable Finance” since 2009. Executive director of Fund Governance Analytics (FGA), an ESG research partnership with Marquette University, he is a member of the CFA Institute ESG Working Group, an international committee currently exploring ESG standards, publishes the blog, Sustainable Finance, which covers current topics around governance and sustainability in investing, and is co-author of the book, The Trustee Governance Guide: The Five Imperatives of 21st Century Investing.