Activist hedge fund Bluebell Capital Partners claims there's a 'complete lack of oversight' on the BlackRock board

Activist investor Bluebell has put an item on the BlackRock AGM agenda, asking shareholders to approve the separation of the roles of Chairman and CEO with the appointment of an independent chair. Bluebell says the proposal stems from their specific assessment of the quote, unequivocal failure of Black Rock’s corporate governance and inconsistencies in the implementation of its ESG policy. In response to the proposal, a BlackRock spokesperson told CNBC that Bluebell has made Quote multiple misguided, incorrect, and contradictory criticisms of them. There you go. Rooted in its disagreement with proxy voting decisions made by BlackRock Stewardship Investment Team, Larry Fink has been Chair and CEO since. He hasn’t actually been found chair and CEO since 1988. I think he’s been the chair since they split from Blackstone, which was beaten since 1988, But anyway, he’s been chair and CEO since they were listed in 1999. I should add, shares of BlackRock have risen almost 60% in the last five years. Let’s get to Giuseppe Bivona, partner and CEO at Bluebell Capital Partners. Giuseppe, The point being, he’s been chair and CEO for at least 1/4 of a century. Why are you making this move now? Good morning, Stephen. Kind, Thank you for having me. But look, I think the governance of a company, what is that idea going as a company change over time? And so, OK, what was the best governance in an early stage of the company? It’s very different from the one in the mature stage particularly when there are success an issue. So I mean I think we look to BlackRock as a very mature company. Clearly Larry Fink, you know it’s believe 72 years old and there is a policy for director stepping down 75 and there is no question that there is a complete lack of oversight on BlackRock board. Talk about the the lack of I mean there’s a lot of things in your statement here and we’ve been reading through the whole thing as well. But talk about the lack of checks and balances on him. Surely one of the greatest checks and balances is the fact that these are listed shares, listed shares that albeit they’re off their top but they last closed at $763 as opposed to the level they first started trading at in 1999 at around about $18.00 as well. They they have come a long way. Look there is no question then BlackRock has done reasonably well. But let me tell you that when you hear a number of time including in the proxy material that BlackRock has filed with the response towards us and they claims that the stock is down you know 9000% since the IPO and which is much better than what the S and PS have done roughly 500%. They do tell half of the story and half of the story is that 100% of these over performance dates back from the IPO to the 2000 O nine since 2000 O 9. This company has not delivered a sense of over performance of vis A vis the S&P. That’s again something which everything doesn’t like to say, but this is as factual as anything else. Giuseppe, I want to pick up on your complaints around the ESG, what you call inconsistencies and contradictions between ESG policies and implementation. This isn’t a really fascinating one, given that for many, Larry Fink is the poster boy for the, what they call the woke agenda or ESG. Why do you think there are inconsistencies? Look, I mean I think you know BlackRock is the master of hypocrisy in the ESG and not just in ESG. If in early 2020 they send a let, they send a letter which I believe we all read about exiting thermal core and we are in 2024 and that the leading shareholder in any major thermal core company you have to ask yourself a question. If in 2022 they send a letter to the SEC against company reporting scope 3 and and in the letter the unconded in 2021 they say exactly the opposite. You need to ask your question. But let me tell you that it is not just the ESGESG maybe has been the most visible part over the last few year. But if you see a company like BlackRock, who for three or four years in a row vote for management proposal, a company a Signature Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, you know, Bed Bath and Beyond, a lost town motto. Again, you have to ask some questions and say, well, why do you choose this company? Because this is a company all went in chapter eleven 2023. So when I look for a for a for a national merger as Black Rock to exercise stewardship, I’m not just thinking about the LGI mean, I believe this. This Black Rock doesn’t even know who they’re voting for. Let’s assume what they’re voting for.