In December 2020, BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink remarked that climate change would become a defining factor in the decision-making process of investments. In September 2023, BlackRock was said to have told US regulators that it intended to close some sustainable emerging-market bond funds, with combined assets worth about $55 million. In 2023, it was said to fall from 12% in the previous year to 2%.
As of June 2023, it was said that the US had close to 660 sustainable funds, but there were more liquidations, compared to previous years. In January 2023, BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink stated that the asset manager lost around $4 billion in assets under management.
In Q2 2023, global sustainable funds were said to have attracted about $18 billion of net new money. So, $18 billion was the amount of new investments that flowed into these funds after accounting for withdrawals or redemptions. In the quarter prior, global sustainable funds were said to attract about $31 billion. It is said that when the growth of global sustainable funds is looked at, it seems like their growth rate slowed down. Global sustainable funds were said to have their organic growth rate decline from 1.2% to 0.7% in the same time period.
These funds didn’t grow as fast as they did before. The resolutions were not seen as consistent with their clients’ long-term financial interests. According to a report, between June 2022 and June 2023, it is said that the firm voted in favour of only 7% of such proposals. This is a drop from the previous years, when it backed 22% and 47% of them.
