“Wall Street doesn’t care.”
Does Wall Street Finally Care About Sustainability?
Larry Fink champions the long-term view, but many boards still don’t.
January 19, 2018
Summary.
In his annual letter to S&P 500 CEOs, Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, made a full-throated defense of both long-term value creation and corporate purpose. And it’s powerful stuff, especially coming from the world’s largest asset owner. Fink points out that governments seem to be failing to prepare for long-term issues and that “society is increasingly turning to the private sector” to step up on societal challenges. But will Fink’s letter really make a difference? Alone, probably not. What will make a difference is if investors, including institutions like BlackRock, apply direct pressure to CEOs and boards. That will mean not only being active investors but also behaving more like activist investors.