Activist investor calls for BlackRock CEO Fink to step down over ESG ‘hypocrisy’

LONDON — BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is facing calls to measurement down from activistic capitalist Bluebell Capital implicit the company's alleged "hypocrisy" connected its environmental, societal and governance (ESG) messaging.

Fink has go an outspoken proponent of "stakeholder capitalism" and successful his annual missive to CEOs earlier this year, pushed backmost against accusations that the elephantine plus manager was utilizing its size to propulsion a governmental agenda.

However, successful a missive to Fink dated Nov. 10, shareholder Bluebell expressed interest astir the "reputational hazard (including greenwashing risk) to which BlackRock nether the enactment of Larry Fink person unreasonably exposed the company."

In a connection sent to CNBC connected Wednesday, BlackRock responded: "In the past 18 months, Bluebell has waged a fig of campaigns to beforehand their clime and governance agenda."

"BlackRock Investment Stewardship did not enactment their campaigns arsenic we did not see them to beryllium successful the champion economical interests of our clients," it said.

London-based Bluebell — an activistic money with astir $250 cardinal successful assets nether absorption that holds a tiny involvement successful BlackRock — has antecedently targeted the likes of Richemont and Solvay, and had a manus successful successfully forcing a absorption restructure astatine Danone.

Partner and co-founder Giuseppe Bivona told CNBC Wednesday that the steadfast was acrophobic astir "the spread betwixt what BlackRock consistently says connected ESG and what they really do," based connected Bluebell's encounters with the Wall Street elephantine during activistic campaigns directed astatine these companies.

"We spot BlackRock endorsing a fig of atrocious practices from a governance, societal and biology position which is not really successful tune with what they say," Bivona said.

"In our latest activistic run astatine Richemont, they person been opposing the summation of committee practice for investors owning 90% of the institution from 1 to three. I truly don't deliberation this is successful the champion involvement of the investor, upon which connected a fiduciary ground they put the money, and of people it's not successful the champion involvement of immoderate shareholder."

Bivona besides took purpose astatine BlackRock's 2020 committedness to clients to exit thermal ember investments, which it says successful its lawsuit missive connected sustainability that the "long-term economical oregon concern rationale" nary longer justifies.

Bluebell noted that this commitment excludes passive funds specified arsenic scale trackers and ETFs, which represent 64% of BlackRock's much than $10 trillion successful assets nether management.

The institution remains a large shareholder successful the likes of Glencore and "coal intensive miners" Exxaro, Peabody and Whitehaven, Bivaro's missive to Fink connected Nov. 10 noted. A report earlier this twelvemonth found that elephantine planetary plus managers including BlackRock were inactive pumping tens of billions of dollars into caller ember projects and large lipid and state companies.

"Let maine accidental that erstwhile the terms of ember was astir $76 per ton, BlackRock was talking astir fundamentally divesting," Bivona told CNBC.

"Now that the terms of ember is $380 per ton, they are talking astir liable ownership. I deliberation determination is simply a precocious correlation betwixt BlackRock's strategy connected ember and the terms of coal."

Bluebell's missive besides took purpose astatine BlackRock for having "politicized the ESG debate," aft its nationalist advocacy led to a swathe of Republican-controlled U.S. states divesting assets managed by BlackRock successful protestation astatine the plus manager's ESG policies.