Skip to content

26 June, 2022

Subscribe Advertise About Us
  • My Account
  • Register
  • Log In
  • Log Out

Board Agenda

  • Governance
  • Strategy
  • Risk
  • Ethics
  • News
    • Categoriess

      • View All
      • Board Moves
    • Man presses plus sign

      News round-up: this week in governance

      Row over pay for non-execs; JD Sports governance overhaul; EU agrees on CSRD; and do...

    • Board members discussing ESG Stakeholder pressure increases urgency on ESG

      Experts say pressure to act on ESG is coming from regulators, investors and a new...

    • A group of diverse job candidates Diversity business case arguments may deter job candidates

      Performance-based and fairness-based arguments confirm that social identities "are a lens through which contributions will...

  • Insight
    • Categories

      • View all
      • Governance
      • Strategy
      • Risk
      • Ethics
      • Board Expertise
      • finance
      • Technology
    • Whistleblower in a crowd

      5 reasons for boards to implement a whistleblowing solution

      The right policy and reporting channel for whistleblowing increases awareness and offers protection. But the...

    • White-collar criminal in jail

      Into the mind of white-collar criminals

      It is estimated that high-level fraud costs the global economy over US$5trn every year. What...

    • notebook on boardroom table

      5 topics to improve the effectiveness of your board

      How many board meetings result in real progress for your company? Make sure these discussion...

  • Comment
      • View all
    • Why risk perception is vital

      It is easy to see the tragic situation unfolding in Ukraine in terms of a...

    • Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer Why emotional intelligence is essential for successful leadership

      Cold logic is not a vote winner for politicians or board members. Sir Keir Starmer...

    • Businessman in thinker pose What’s a company for? Milton Friedman responds

      The ongoing lively debate about corporate purpose has caused me to reflect further on the...

  • Interviews
      • View All Interviews
      • Podcasts
      • Webinars
    • Empty boardroom Many executives ‘fail to understand the role and value of boards’

      A recent webinar on board effectiveness discussed the mix of competence and courage required from...

    • Businessman looking at stormy sky Disaster or disruption? Crisis management requires clear definitions

      Identifying and categorising crises, and developing a methodology to deal with them, can help boards...

    • Sir Donald Brydon Sir Donald Brydon on audit reform, career NEDs and board relationships

      While bemoaning the "glacial" pace of audit reform, he hails the pandemic's transformation of communication...

  • Careers
      • View all
      • Selection
      • Board Moves
    • A group of diverse job candidates Diversity business case arguments may deter job candidates

      Performance-based and fairness-based arguments confirm that social identities "are a lens through which contributions will...

    • Directors waiting for an interview Gender diversity warning for FTSE All-Share Index

      Report from Women on Boards and Protiviti reveals half of FTSE All Share companies outside...

    • A group of directors in a boardroom Women take 54% of FTSE 350 board roles but fail to win ‘top jobs’

      Just 19% of chair, chief executive, chief financial officer or senior independent director roles went...

  • Resource Centre
      • White Paper Downloads
      • Book Reviews
      • Corporate & Advisory Services
    • Stakeholder Engagement: A Roadmap for UK Plc Boards

      This guide aims to provide directors and their colleagues with advice on how to ensure...

    • Board Duties in Ensuring Company Engagement with Affected Stakeholders

      This guidance note gives a brief overview of the role of corporate boards of directors...

    • C-Suite Barometer 2021

      At the end of 2021, Mazars surveyed over 1,000 executives around the world for its...

  • Events
  • Search by topic
    • Governance
    • Strategy
    • Risk
    • Ethics
    • Regulation
    • ESG
    • Investor Relations
    • Selection
    • Board Expertise
    • finance
    • Technology
  • Magazine
      • View All
      • Sustainability Works
      • Tomorrow's Leaders
      • Renumeration Tightrope
      • Governance Ascendance
      • Sense In Sustainability
      • Invisible Enemies

BlackRock expands voting choice in response to investor demand

by Gavin Hinks on June 14, 2022

Voting will now be available to clients representing 47% of index equity assets globally, including 650 funds based in the US and UK.

BlackRock offices in San Francisco

Image: Tada Images/Shutterstock.com

As an exercise in corporate democracy it is impressive. BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager, is expanding the “voting choice” measures that allow clients, such as pensions funds, to make their own decisions when it comes to voting at annual general meetings.

An announcement this week sees voting choice expanded to clients representing 47% of index equity assets globally, including 650 funds based in the US and UK. Funds valued at $530bn, or a quarter of eligible assets, have now shifted to their own voting, while half the assets ($4.7trn) managed by BlackRock are eligible to vote their own preferences.

Voting choice is available for 100% of US pension funds using BlackRock, and round 80% of assets managed in Europe and the UK.

According to Sandy Boss, global head of BlackRock investment stewardship, voting comes as a response to investor demand. “Our clients have a range of investment horizons, risk preferences and financial needs. We understand that some client are seeking increased customisation, including the opportunity to align their voting with their unique investment philosophies or their views.”

Current moves, however, which started in October 2021, may just be the start. Salim Ramji, global head of iShares and index investments at BlackRock, says: “While BlackRock’s Voting Choice program is an industry first, we see it as just a beginning. Our ambition is to make voting choice convenient and efficient for all investors, as we are working with policymakers and industry participants around the world to extend voting choice for our clients.”

Size and voting power

Voting choice, or preferences, has been a concern here in the UK too. Recommendation 20 of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) report on voting for pensions schemes calls on asset managers to allow pensions an “expression of wish”.

In December last year the DWP minister Guy Opperman wrote to 44 asset managers asking them to implement Recommendation 20. He said in a letter he saw “no reason why trustees should not be able to set an expression of wish if they want to do so”.

Fund managers, and in particular BlackRock, have faced complaints for some time about their sheer scale and voting power. When it was announced in October last year, the New York Times DealBook column wrote: “Allowing investors to vote their shares gives BlackRock some cover, especially when it comes to what has become its thorniest issue: its size. In recent years, BlackRock has been simultaneously criticized for having too much power and for not using it to push for more changes at companies in which it invests.”

But it wasn’t just size that mattered to some observers. Also of concern was the leadership of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink in pushing ESG measures. According to a piece on the Harvard Law School governance blog, his “outsize role” in ESG has made the fund manager a “a target for protests” from campaigners to push the organisation further.

That is unlikely to end soon. BlackRock wields too much power and many investors will continue to allow the fund manager to vote their shares. But the company can say it has played a part in allowing investors the chance to make their own voting decisions.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail

Related Posts

  • Philanthropist challenges BlackRock over executive pay voting
    May 22, 2017
    Larry Fink, BlackRock

    Shareholder calls on world's largest fund manger to bring voting on executive pay in line with other investment managers.

  • BlackRock voting report reveals focus on independence and diversity
    July 27, 2021
    BlackRock offices in San Francisco

    The fund manager voted against the reappointment of 6,560 directors around the world between the beginning of July 2020 and end of June 2021.

  • MSCI extends investigation of non-voting shares
    November 3, 2017
    Snap, Snapchat, non-voting shares

    Index provider MSCI reveals it will broaden its consultation to "all forms" of unequal voting rights.

  • Index firm reviews membership role of non-voting shares
    June 20, 2017
    Trading screen showing share prices

    Institutional investors await the outcome of consultation on the role of non-voting stock in determining membership of FTSE Russell indices, following SNAP's decision to float without a single voting share.

For thoughtful journalism, expert insights on corporate governance and an extensive library of reports, guides and tools to help boards and directors navigate the complexities of their roles, subscribe to Board Agenda

AGMs, Blackrock, corporate governance, investors, strategy, Voting rights

Search


Sign up to our Newsletter

Receive independent news, thoughtful journalism & expert insights about leadership, corporate governance & key boardroom issues straight to your inbox every week.

SIGN UP

Follow Us


 

 

 

 

Most Popular

  • Stakeholder pressure increases urgency on ESG
  • IoD calls for voluntary code of conduct for board directors
  • News round-up: this week in governance
  • Companies ‘may inflate ESG performance’ to boost ratings
  • 5 reasons for boards to implement a whistleblowing solution

 


 

Featured Partner Profile

Diligent

Diligent

Diligent Corporation, which was founded in 2001, is headquartered in New York, NY with a European HQ in London. Diligent’s modern governance platform empowers leaders and teams at every level of the organisation to digitally transform and create ...

Featured Partner Resources

Board Transformation 2021: Leadership in Transition

There can be little doubt that the global Covid-19...

Digital Boards: How Technology Adoption is Driving Culture Change and Resiliency

Digital tools proved their worth to boards during ...
EQ 2021 AGM Season report

2021 AGM Season: Successful AGMs in the Pandemic and Beyond

With the impacts of Covid-19 hitting just as the s...
Leadership in AI report

Leadership in AI 2021

This report from Board Agenda and Mazars, in assoc...
Creativity in a Crisis: a Boardroom Map for Innovation

Creativity in a Crisis: a Boardroom Map for Innovation

In the uncertain times at the height of any crisis...
Board Directors Guide to D&O Liability Insurance - November 2020 - AIG & Board Agenda

Board Directors' Guide to D&O Liability Insurance

Directors face liability over a range of new threa...
Leadership-in-Risk-Management-Board-Report

Leadership in Risk Management: Board Report

Board Agenda, in association with Mazars and INSEA...
Director's Guide to Internal Investigations

A Director's Guide to Conducting Internal Investigations

An internal investigation must be handled meticulo...

Global Business Complexity Index 2021

The Global Business Complexity Index 2021 provides...

 


 

ADVERTISE – FREE CORPORATE LISTING

FREE - Add your company profile to our Corporate & Advisory Directory.
ADD

ADVERTISE – PROMOTE YOUR REPORTS & WHITEPAPERS

FREE - Add your company profile to our Corporate & Advisory Directory.
Add Resource

Register Free

Register to receive free article views, selected resource downloads, and all the latest news alerts straight to your inbox. Register


  • Editors & Contributors
  • Corporate & Advisory Services
  • Media Marketing Solutions
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Board Director Network
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Sitemap
|