Tiny activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners is taking aim at BlackRock (BLK.N) and wants to replace longtime CEO Larry Fink, criticizing the world’s largest asset manager as being inconsistent in its focus on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues.
Bluebell, with roughly $250 million in assets, said BlackRock, which invests over $8 trillion, and Fink have “alienated clients and attracted an undesired level of negative publicity” with the firm’s ESG strategy.
The criticism from London-based Bluebell is the opposite of recent accusations by some U.S. lawmakers and state officials that BlackRock and Fink are putting sustainability goals before earning returns. According to Bluebell, BlackRock is not going far enough in pursuing its ESG goals and is failing to distance itself from investments in fossil fuel, including coal.
Activist investor Bluebell targets BlackRock, seeks ouster of CEO Fink | Reuters