BlackRock CEO Larry Fink on shifting investment strategy towards environmental sustainability

Larry Fink, founder and CEO of the world's largest asset manager who oversees nearly $7 trillion at BlackRock, announced in his annual letter that BlackRock will make investment decisions with environmental sustainability as its core goal. He sat down with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin to discuss what went through his mind when writing this year's letter and what this means for municipalities some of which may be his clients where fossil fuels are a major component of the local economy.

The chief of the world’s largest money manager believes the intensifying climate crisis will bring about a fundamental reshaping of finance, with a significant reallocation of capital set to take place “sooner than most anticipate.”

In an annual letter to CEOs published Tuesday, BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink said: “Climate change has become a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects … But awareness is rapidly changing, and I believe we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance.”

BlackRock’s assets under management totaled almost $7 trillion in the third quarter of 2019.

Fink’s comments come as business leaders, policymakers and investors prepare to travel to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum next week.

The theme at this year’s January get-together, which is often criticized for being out of touch with the real world, has been designated as “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.”

“Climate change is almost invariably the top issue that clients around the world raise with BlackRock. From Europe to Australia, South America to China, Florida to Oregon, investors are asking how they should modify their portfolios,” Fink continued.

“And because capital markets pull future risk forward, we will see changes in capital allocation more quickly than we see changes to the climate itself.”

“In the near future — and sooner than most anticipate — there will be a significant reallocation of capital,” he added.

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