Letter the world’s largest investor, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, to CEOs; Focus: long-term value creation and ESG

Larry Fink, the chief executive at BlackRock, the world’s biggest investor with $4.5 trillion, just sent a letter to chief executives at S&P 500 companies and large European corporations. The letter focuses on short-termism both in corporate America and Europe, but also in politics, and asks CEOs to better articulate their plans for the future.

Business Insider managed to get a hold of the letter and is running it in full below (emphasis ours):

KEY POINTS:

"We are asking that every CEO lay out for shareholders each year a strategic framework for long-term value creation. Additionally, because boards have a critical role to play in strategic planning, we believe CEOs should explicitly affirm that their boards have reviewed those plans. BlackRock’s corporate governance team, in their engagement with companies, will be looking for this framework and board review.
"But one reason for investors’ short-term horizons is that companies have not sufficiently educated them about the ecosystems they are operating in, what their competitive threats are and how technology and other innovations are impacting their businesses."

"Over the long-term, environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues – ranging from climate change to diversity to board effectiveness – have real and quantifiable financial impacts. At companies where ESG issues are handled well, they are often a signal of operational excellence. BlackRock has been undertaking a multi-year effort to integrate ESG considerations into our investment processes, and we expect companies to have strategies to manage these issues.”

Hier geht es zum gesamten Brief, erschienen bei www.businessinsider.sg.