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BlackRock shareholders have been urged to vote against CEO Larry Fink’s salary at the group’s upcoming annual meeting, setting up a tense compensation vote for the world’s largest asset manager for the second year in a row.
Proxy Advisor’s institutional shareholder services said that despite suffering from a rebellion over fees last year, the asset manager at 11.6TN was lacking in addressing shareholder concerns about executive wages. The BlackRock board added disclosures accordingly, but they led to conclude support for this year’s proposal, saying that they “provided additional insights into wage decisions.”
While BlackRock shareholder returns have been strong, the ISS’s recommendation on Monday means the group is facing another difficult vote on Fink’s compensation at its shareholders meeting on May 15th. BlackRock received just 59% support for last year’s salary. Payroll sheets in the US are usually non-binding, but send a message to the company’s board of directors about investor complaints.
Fink’s salary is close to $36.7 million compared to the $33.1 million disclosed by the company, according to the ISS. “Adjusting the lag in the equity grant report” has resulted in Fink’s awards increasing by about 33% since 2023, the ISS said.
“BlackRock has a long-standing performance wage culture,” a company spokesman said in a statement. “We value the opinions of our shareholders and look forward to continuing engagement.”
ISS voting recommendations shake investors’ votes, but when opposed to the company, they are inconclusive. Goldman Sachs shareholders approved the executive bonus last week despite recommendations for the package from ISS and rival Glass Lewis. Still, Goldman has only gained 66% support for wages.
The ISS also raised concerns about the new carried interest payments program BlackRock launched in February. Like Goldman earlier this year, BlackRock Chief’s bonuses include a new award that qualifies Fink to the share of profits generated by the group’s private market funds to generate growth in this segment.
The new bonus is not relevant to this year’s pay voting, but “(IT) is likely to add complexity to wage programs, particularly in light of the long-term outlook for proxy pay disclosures and uncertainty in pay outcomes,” ISS said. “There is no indication that this new incentive is intended to offset some of the current pay opportunities.”
