ESG Has Been “Weaponized” Says Fink
Posted on 06/28/2023
The world of high finance has become perilous lately, with protestors in France storming the office of BlackRock and political opponents on both sides launching accusations. Security for top executives at BlackRock has been stepped up as a result. ESG isn’t making the situation any less tense.
Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, says both the left and the right have weaponized the term ESG “entirely.” “I’m not blaming one side or the other,” he said, “it’s been unfortunately politicized and weaponized.”
The battle over ESG has mainly focused on oil and gas companies to date. ESG can be a hard road to navigate with republicans starting to battle back against the left-leaning agenda and democrats often criticizing action that they say doesn’t go far enough. Investment managers are caught in the middle.
Fink says ESG has cost the firm US$ 4 billion, but he might be able to get that back if some of his predictions come true. Fink has said that he expects AI to boost productivity. Fink says it will “transform margins across sectors.”
