2024-05-01 20:48:23
The New York City Employees’ Retirement Fund urged BlackRock shareholders to vote once morest the election of Saudi Aramco’s CEO as a director of BlackRock Asset Management, citing a potential conflict of interest regarding the company’s strategy. corporate decarbonization as well as human rights concerns.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, last year named Amin Nasser, chairman of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, as an independent director.
BlackRock shareholders should vote once morest Nasser’s election at the company’s annual meeting on May 15, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander wrote in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on behalf of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System.
“We believe this potential conflict of interest undermines Al-Nasser’s ability to provide independent oversight, generally and specifically with respect to BlackRock’s decarbonization strategy,” he wrote.
BlackRock manages regarding $19 billion for the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, which has invested $43 million in the asset management company.
BlackRock said in a statement sent by one of its representatives that Al-Nasser is “clearly independent” according to the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange.
The statement added: “As Chairman of a major publicly traded energy company in the strategically important Middle East region, Al-Nasser brings to the board extensive experience and in-depth knowledge of operations, management of the company’s risks and energy transition, as well as its vision of the international commercial strategy.
Aramco has not yet commented.
BlackRock is working to strengthen its relationship with Saudi Arabia. On Tuesday, it announced it would launch a new investment platform, backed by up to $5 billion from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.
BlackRock has a relatively large board of directors of 16 people currently up for election at the shareholder meeting scheduled for May 15. The company has faced questions regarding the size of its board in the past, but its directors easily won a new round last year.
This year, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, two senior advisors to the agency, recommended voting “for” all of BlackRock’s nominees, although they suggested investors vote ” once morest” CEO Larry Fink’s compensation due to operational and performance issues.
BlackRock has been criticized by Republican politicians for its concerns regarding climate change, even though it continues to invest in fossil fuel companies. When Nasser was first named to the company’s board last year, he believed it was intended to blunt Republican criticism.
“Al-Nasser and BlackRock have very divergent interests on the need to decarbonize,” the New York Pension Fund said Wednesday.
He added: “Al-Nasser has a vested interest in expanding the use of fossil fuels and is a strong advocate of this,” which conflicts with BlackRock’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In a filing released Wednesday, the New York City Employees’ Pension Fund said Al-Nasser cannot be considered truly independent of BlackRock given the 2022 pipeline deal that includes the company. Asset Management and Aramco, in addition to the 2023 bond issuance linked to BlackRock. This agreement.
The disclosure also raises human rights concerns, saying Saudi oil giant Aramco is “engaged in one of the largest alleged violations of climate-related international human rights,” which might harm the reputation of BlackRock and its shareholders.
The disclosure was based on a letter sent last year by United Nations experts to Aramco in which they said its expansion into fossil fuel production and ongoing exploration threatened human rights.
“Given these factors, Al-Nasser’s continued presence on BlackRock’s board poses a risk to the reputation and culture of the company, as well as to the board and shareholders,” it said. disclosure.
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