From VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow: I’m sure BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s response to the obnoxious, accusatory, misleading, letter he received from 19 Republican state attorneys general will be measured, diplomatic, and thoroughly lawyered over. He will hope to mollify them to continue to be able to do business with the government pension funds. That is only…
Tag: institutional investors
The 70 BlackRock Analysts Who Speak for Millions of Shareholders – WSJ
On one hand, the concentration of share ownership has addressed some of the issues connected to the separation of ownership and control. On the other hand, there are still intermediaries between the beneficial holders and the companies whose stock is held on their behalf. This is all the more reason for a strong, enforceable fiduciary…
Proxy Insight: Proxy Votes in 2021
Proxy Insight has published their report on proxy voting in 2021. The most significant findings: The five largest institutional investors increased their support of environmental shareholder proposals by an average 13 percentage points between the 2020 and 2021 proxy seasons, compared with four percentage points for all investors.The top five backed 100% of climate transition…
Huge investor coalition urges governments to accelerate climate action | Corporate Secretary
A huge investor coalition has called on national governments to accelerate policy changes that will support investment in climate change solutions. A group of 587 investment firms with a collective $46 trillion in assets under management yesterday issued a statement urging governments to take a range of actions, from strengthening emissions targets to mandating climate…
Big investors demand annual vote on companies’ net zero plans | Financial Times
More than 50 large investors are demanding companies publish details of efforts to tackle climate change and give shareholders a vote on their plans, arguing that many businesses making “net zero” commitments for 2050 are doing little to act on them. JPMorgan Asset Management, M&G and 51 other investors, which together manage more than $14tn…
New blood at Wall Street’s old guard rattles Corporate America
This year marks a sea change as top funds throw more of their weight behind investor challenges to companies on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and put companies on notice by often choosing to publicize how and why they voted, a Reuters review of voting results and fund firms’ new disclosures shows. A record…
How Vanguard Looks at Shareholder Proposals
From the Veritas Compensation in Context newsletter, courtesy of John Galloway, how Vanguard evaluates shareholder proposals: We assess each proposal through a fiduciary lens. First we look for alignment with the Vanguard funds’ corporate governance principles in the company’s board composition, the board’s oversight of strategy and risk, executive compensation, and shareholder rights. We then…
Wake Up Call for Corporate Leaders on ESG, Sustainability, and Engagement
Edelman’s 2019 “Trust Barometer” shows a strong swing toward ESG and sustainability from investors. We believe the first of their conclusions listed below is misleading. It cannot be emphasized too strongly that sustainability by its very definition is not a trade-off for returns; it is essential for returns, both present value and long-term, as the…
Activists thought BlackRock, Vanguard were climate allies. Not now
In 2017, the two biggest U.S.-based fund managers, BlackRock and Vanguard — which control a combined $12 trillion in assets — both voted to require Exxon Mobil to produce a report on climate change. It was a seen as watershed moment showing what can occur when the biggest index funds punch their weight at the…
Why Isn’t Your Mutual Fund Sticking Up for You?
Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo E. Strine Jr. and Harvard Kennedy School professor Antonio Weiss want mutual funds to consider the same long-term issues raised in the BRT stakeholder statement: Growing inequality and stagnant wages are forcing a much-needed debate about our corporate governance system. Are corporations producing returns only for stockholders? Or are they…
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