RE: Oh, look !18 Jul 2023 16:21
A somewhat cynical take on the fore-going, - consider the source ! :
https://nypost.com/2021/06/05/blackrocks-no-1-goal-in-woke-investing-huge-esg-funds-haul/
.."Fink has been a huge cheerleader for so-called ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) investing. ESG is all about ensuring that companies BlackRock holds in its multitudes of funds adhere to certain progressive edicts (like executives not paying themselves too much money).
Sounds good on paper — until you drill down. For starters, such investing methods are highly political and veer far to the left. Companies often get good grades for supporting lefty causes such as Black Lives Matter. Oil companies like Exxon will get higher marks for building wind farms that produce energy inefficiently.
Something else for investors to consider: These funds lately haven’t beat indices that are simply created to make you money and only do so when they pack themselves with high-flying tech names.
But here’s where Fink and BlackRock still come out ahead: They have sensed that with all the media hype of ESG investing as the next frontier, they can also make a lot of money creating a new type of fund dedicated specifically to ESG — and then charge more for it.
... several BlackRock officials hold key positions in the Biden administration, eg director of the president’s National Economic Council.
This revolving door between Washington and Wall Street gives Fink a huge voice in US economic policy. It’s no surprise that the Biden White House is issuing new environmental rules left and right to satisfy its woke base and, by extension, those who want woke investments, which Fink is happy to provide.
By the end of the year, BlackRock could have as many as 150 so-called exchange-traded funds that adhere to ESG standards. ETFs are supposed to carry lower fees than normal funds because they mirror a typical basket of stocks like the S&P 500.
But with ESG screening methods, BlackRock has found a way to inflate management fees of this seemingly prosaic investment. In fact, studies show that management fees on ESG funds are more than 40 percent higher than other ETFs.
BlackRock currently manages about $200 billion in ESG client money, which means that number is likely to grow and add to BlackRock’s profits.
Now with Engine No. 1 likely to occupy three seats on Exxon’s board, it isn’t too much of a stretch to see the company passing Fink’s ESG screens for his ETFs with flying colors.
In short, Fink will look like a darling to Democratic politicians, he’ll get a lot of left-leaning rich people to put cash in what they feel are “moral” stocks — and he’ll laugh all the way to the bank... "
Who knows? Maybe we'll see ZIOC as the poster child for 'green iron ore' investing, with BlackRock as a stakeholder...???
To paraphrase Conan Doyle : .."when you have discounted the impossible, whatever else remains, however improbable, may
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