Clients representing nearly half (47%) of
index equity assets globally are now eligible for BlackRock Voting
Choice
Clients representing 25% ($530 billion) of
eligible index equity assets ($2.3 trillion) have elected to
participate in BlackRock Voting Choice
Firm extends the range of institutional
pooled funds offering BlackRock Voting Choice – now offered to more
funds in the U.K., and in Canada and Ireland for the first
time
Firm working on ‘proof of concept’ for
individual investors in U.K. to participate in BlackRock Voting
Choice
In response to growing client interest, BlackRock today
announces that it is further expanding the opportunity for eligible
clients – including public and private pension plans, insurance
companies, endowments, foundations and sovereign wealth funds – to
participate in proxy voting decisions, where legally and
operationally viable.
The expansion of the program reflects BlackRock’s commitment to
democratize participation in the financial markets by providing
clients the industry’s broadest range of choice to help them meet
their investment objectives with the freedom to choose how their
votes are cast.
BlackRock today also published a white paper, ‘It’s All About
Choice’, that outlines the firm’s ambition to expand Voting
Choice to all investors, including individual investors in
funds.
Salim Ramji, Global Head of iShares and Index Investments,
BlackRock commented:
“BlackRock’s ETF and index investments offer clients thousands
of low cost, convenient options for how to invest their money – and
that freedom to choose is also extending to proxy voting. Following
years of work on technology and regulatory barriers, nearly half of
our clients’ index equity assets – including pension funds
representing more than 60 million people – have easy and efficient
options to vote their preferences. 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, and we are working with policymakers and industry
participants around the world to extend voting choice for our
clients”.
Sandy Boss, Global Head of BlackRock Investment Stewardship,
commented:
“Our clients have a range of investment horizons, risk
preferences and financial needs. We understand that some clients
are seeking increased customization, including the opportunity to
align their voting with their unique investment philosophies or
their views. We are therefore pleased to provide our clients with
voting choice options that are the broadest available today. For
those clients who authorize BlackRock to manage voting decisions on
their behalf, BlackRock Investment Stewardship will continue as an
important link between our clients and the companies we invest in
on their behalf”.
Voting Choice Sees Significant Adoption
as Firm Expands Option to Even More Clients
After several years of investment and work to overcome
technological and regulatory hurdles, the firm successfully
launched the BlackRock Voting Choice initiative in October 2021 and
the initial phase of BlackRock Voting Choice went live on January
1, 2022. This phase provided certain institutional clients,
including pension funds, insurance companies and corporations
invested in many index strategies, more choice in how they
participated in voting at shareholder meetings. These institutional
clients were invested through separate accounts globally and
certain pooled funds managed by BlackRock in the U.S. and U.K.1
The second phase of BlackRock’s Voting Choice program is
expanding the institutional pooled fund ranges eligible for Voting
Choice in the U.K. and is also expanding Voting Choice to Canadian
and Irish institutional pooled funds. As a result, nearly half
(47%) of the $4.9 trillion2 index equity assets – including more
than 6503 pooled investment funds in the U.S. and the U.K. – are
now eligible to participate in BlackRock Voting Choice.
BlackRock clients have committed $530 billion – or a quarter
of eligible assets - to voting their own preferences through Voting
Choice4. In the five months since BlackRock introduced the
program, clients representing $120 billion5 of assets have elected
to vote their own preferences, enabled by the ease and efficiency
of BlackRock Voting Choice. This builds on the legacy clients (with
assets of $410 billion6) that have always controlled their own
voting.
BlackRock Voting Choice is available today for 100% of U.S.
pension plans. In Europe and the U.K., 80% of BlackRock’s index
equity assets (other than ETFs) are eligible for BlackRock Voting
Choice.
Our Commitment to Investment Stewardship
While BlackRock is offering clients more choice in how index
holdings can be voted, BlackRock Investment Stewardship (BIS) is a
critical component of BlackRock’s fiduciary approach.
BlackRock continues to invest in its industry leading investment
stewardship team. As part of their voting choice options, clients
can continue to elect BIS to vote on their behalf. Regardless of
which option they choose, BIS will continue to engage with the
companies in clients’ investment portfolios throughout the year on
a broad range of issues that the team believes are material to a
company’s ability to create long-term economic value for
shareholders, including governance and long-term strategic
planning. These engagements inform BIS’ voting decisions.
To support informed voting decisions, in the 12 months to
December 31, 2021, BIS held more than 3,600 engagements with more
than 2,300 unique companies. BIS voted at more than 17,200
shareholder meetings, casting more than 164,000 votes on behalf of
clients that have authorized BlackRock to manage voting decisions
on their behalf.
More Options for More
Investors
In service of BlackRock’s ambition to a future where every
investor can have an easy and efficient option to participate in
voting decisions if they choose, BlackRock is also working with
industry partners on a pilot that aims to enable all investors in a
U.K. mutual fund – institutions and individuals – to exercise
choice in how their portion of eligible shareholder votes are cast
on the companies in this fund.
Beyond this U.K. pilot program, we have already begun to
innovate on a small scale by offering additional shareholder voting
options in the U.S. to a subset of individual investors, as well as
endowments and foundations, through Aperio (a provider of
personalized, tax-optimized separately managed accounts within
BlackRock).
BlackRock Published Whitepaper to
Promote Dialogue around Voting Choice
BlackRock today also published a white paper, ‘It’s All About
Choice’, that discusses how to further democratize
participation in the proxy voting process and overcome the
infrastructure and regulatory hurdles to doing so. In the U.S.,
BlackRock is eager to work with policymakers to explore what
changes in federal and state law would be required to bring more
voting choice or input to more people, whether fund boards or
individuals, and to analyze the pros and cons of various potential
changes.
BlackRock Clients comment on Voting
Choice
Romi Savova, CEO, PensionBee, commented:
“We are delighted to partner with BlackRock to allow our
customers to have a say in voting decisions at companies in which
PensionBee plans are invested. Giving customers the ability to
participate in shareholder voting through their pensions is the
powerful next step towards our vision to create a future where
everyone can have a happy retirement.”
Leola Ross, Ph.D., CFA, Deputy CIO and Head of ESG, Seattle
City Employees’ Retirement System, commented:
“Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System (SCERS) is pleased to
join other asset owners in using Voting Choice, a groundbreaking
proxy-voting implementation for commingled funds. SCERS applauds
BlackRock for working through the technological and regulatory
challenges that make Voting Choice a reality.”
Arian Borgers, Investment Manager, Stichting Philips
Pensioenfonds, commented:
“We continue to authorize BlackRock Investment Stewardship to
vote on behalf of the Philips Pension Fund. After close review we
have determined that BlackRock Investment Stewardship’s policies
are well aligned with our own stewardship policy.”
Notes to Editors:
About BlackRock
BlackRock’s purpose is to help more and more people experience
financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading
provider of financial technology, we help millions of people build
savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing
easier and more affordable. For additional information on
BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate
BlackRock Voting Choice Options
These remain consistent with the launch of BlackRock Voting
Choice in October 2021.
- Clients exercise control over their voting -- Some of
BlackRock’s largest institutional clients have the resources and
the expertise to create their own voting policies, as well as the
infrastructure needed to conduct the voting. This option gives
clients in pooled vehicles the ability to apply their stewardship
preferences in a consistent way across a broader share of their
overall portfolio allocation and to exercise a high degree of
control over the decision-making process and the voting
implementation7. BlackRock Voting Choice is available to
institutional clients of all sizes and resourcing levels.
- Clients take a hybrid approach to voting -- This option
gives institutional clients in separately managed accounts (but not
pooled vehicles) the ability to exercise their voting decisions on
the topics or at the companies that matter most to them. Clients
can choose to vote their own preferences on some categories of
votes, rather than all; these may be specific proposals (for
example on governance), specific sectors (such as energy or
finance), or specific markets (often the client’s home market). The
client can choose to leave all other voting decisions to the
manager’s discretion.
- Clients choose from a slate of third-party policies --
Under this option, institutional clients in both separately managed
accounts and certain pooled vehicles can choose to follow an
off-the-shelf voting policy from third-party proxy advisers,
choosing the policy that best aligns with their views and
preferences. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), Glass Lewis
and others already offer ready-made policies. Clients can currently
choose from at least seven different third-party policies8, and we
expect and hope that the range of choices will expand over time in
line with growing investor demand for a diversity of choices.
- Clients rely on BlackRock’s informed judgment for all voting
decisions -- In this option, clients may choose to rely on
BlackRock for all of their voting decisions. Continuing to rely on
BIS to exercise voting authority is itself a choice and a
deliberate decision by the client to trust BlackRock as a fiduciary
to look after its long-term economic interests.
1 Institutional separate account clients
have the opportunity to vote eligible proxies in eligible markets
for the companies in which they are invested. Investors in
participating pooled funds who meet the eligibility criteria will
have the opportunity to direct voting on eligible proxies in
eligible markets for companies held by the funds. BlackRock will
determine eligibility criteria under this program based upon, among
other things, local market regulation and practice, cost
considerations, operational risk and/or complexity, and financial
considerations, including the decision to lend securities.
2 BlackRock as of March 31, 2022.
3 As of May 4, 2022.
4 Client funds participating in BlackRock
Voting Choice are as of May 15, 2022; assets under management are
as of March 31, 2022.
5 BlackRock as of May 15, 2022.
6 BlackRock as of May 15, 2022.
7 Because BlackRock is a fiduciary with
respect to the pooled funds, BlackRock must review any voting
policy that will apply to votes in connection with the funds’
holdings to confirm that the policy is consistent with the
fiduciary standards that apply to the funds.
8 Of the seven policies, all are available
in the US and six are available in EMEA.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220612005055/en/
Media:
Dominic McMullan dominic.mcmullan@blackrock.com +1
(347) 498 4393
Kirsty King kirsty.king@blackrock.com +44 (0)7780 405
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