BlackRock's Fossil Fuel Investments Allegedly Lost Clients $90 Billion -IEEFA
August 01 2019 - 6:48AM
Dow Jones News
By Dieter Holger
BlackRock Inc. (BLK), the world's largest money manager, lost
its clients an estimated $90 billion over the last decade because
of its investments in fossil fuels, alleges a report from the
Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
The IEEFA report, published on Thursday, said that BlackRock's
funds have put clients' money in fossil fuel-dependent companies
instead of making investments like renewable energy, which would
have generated more value.
IEEFA said that 75% of the alleged losses come from its
investments in four energy titans, which have underperformed the
market in the last 10 years: Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Chevron Corp.
(CVX), Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) and BP PLC (BP).
The companies didn't immediately respond to a request for
comment.
The findings fuel the growing movement calling on BlackRock to
divest from fossil fuels and spur the growth of clean energy to
combat climate change.
A BlackRock spokesman called the report's claims "misplaced,"
pointing to how the money manager is a passive investing giant.
BlackRock, which managed $6.84 trillion as of June, mostly
handles money in funds that track stock market indexes like the
S&P 500, according to its second-quarter earnings. It actively
picked stocks, bonds and other securities for only around 27% of
its managed assets last quarter.
Tom Sanzillo, co-author of the IEEFA report and a former deputy
comptroller for New York, said that BlackRock "is not a passive
player in the capital markets" in response to the money manager's
defense.
"BlackRock is a large consumer of index funds, a direct investor
and a thought leader," he said.
The BlackRock spokesman said the company also offers clients
funds focused on the environmental, social and governance
performance of companies. It manages more than $50 billion in
dedicated ESG strategies, representing around 0.8% of its assets,
according to its 2018 annual report, but its most recent earnings
statement didn't mention ESG.
"These portfolios are among our fastest-growing, which reflects
clients choosing to move in that direction," the BlackRock
spokesman said.
Write to Dieter Holger at dieter.holger@dowjones.com;
@dieterholger
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 01, 2019 06:33 ET (10:33 GMT)
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