In his annual letter to CEOs sent Tuesday, Laurence Fink, the chairman and CEO of BlackRock, which manages nearly $6.3 trillion in investments, put CEOs on high alert that they would be expected to answer questions about their long-term strategy, how they plan to use savings from the tax reform law, what role they play in their communities and whether they are creating a diverse workforce that is being retrained for opportunities in a more automated future.
“Society is demanding that companies, both public and private, serve a social purpose,” Fink wrote in his letter, which was first reported by the New York Times. “To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society.”
Read the rest of the story by the Washington Post.
Luni writes: This is big. This isn’t one small opinion by one small investor, or one offhand comment by a billionaire activist. This is the the CEO of the world’s largest wealth management company. $6.3 TRILLION under management. That is one-third of the U.S. GDP.
And note that Larry isn’t saying that Blackrock demands that companies have a social purpose, he is saying that “Society is demanding” this view.
Thanks Larry for pointing this out. And thank you to all the CEOs who heed his advice. The world has plenty of problems left to solve, and business has the power to fix a lot of those problems.
