Proxy adviser ISS urges vote against executive compensation at BlackRock

Niket Nishant

Mon, Apr 28, 2025, 3:30 AM 2 min read

By Niket Nishant

(Reuters) -Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has asked BlackRock investors to ballot against the plus manager's enforcement compensation plans, escalating tensions aft a constrictive triumph past twelvemonth for its apical management's remuneration packages.

While BlackRock gathered feedback successful 2024 from its 50 largest shareholders aft securing astir 58% enactment for its compensation program past year, its efforts to code their concerns fell short, proxy advisor ISS said.

After learning that immoderate shareholders opposed one-time awards, the plus manager refrained from granting immoderate successful 2024, according to a proxy filing.

However, the institution had not addressed however shareholders' feedback volition pass aboriginal decisions astir one-time awards, ISS said.

BlackRock besides engaged with investors to sermon the discourse down a backstage markets-driven semipermanent inducement for CEO Larry Fink.

But the proxy advisor pointed retired that the institution had not provided assurances that specified discussions would instrumentality spot earlier immoderate important compensation changes successful the future.

BlackRock's yearly gathering is scheduled for May 15. While the ballot connected absorption wage is not binding, important absorption could inactive power aboriginal decisions.

The institution said it "aligns compensation with the palmy transportation of semipermanent concern goals," adding that 2024 was a milestone twelvemonth for revenue, nett inflows and different fiscal metrics. "We worth the sentiment of our shareholders and look guardant to continued engagement," a BlackRock spokesperson said.

Disputes betwixt proxy advisers and fiscal heavyweights person escalated successful caller years. ISS had besides urged rejection of one-time banal awards to the apical 2 executives astatine Goldman Sachs, but shareholders approved that past week.

Shareholder activistic campaigns successful North America fell 7% successful the archetypal 4th from the aforesaid play a twelvemonth earlier, according to information from Diligent Market Intelligence.

However, the diminution was little terrible than successful Asia, which saw a 37% drop.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant successful Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)