Larry Fink, the chief executive of BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager and one of the most vocal supporters of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investment principles, is facing pressure from an activist hedge fund to step down amid claims of hypocrisy. Fink has become an outspoken proponent of "stakeholder capitalism" and in his annual letter to CEOs earlier this year, pushed back against accusations that the giant asset manager was using its size to push a political agenda. 

According to shareholder Bluebell, which holds a 0.01% stake in BlackRock, the asset giant has not gone far enough to detach itself from fossil fuel investments in pursuit of its ESG goals, and Fink has become a target of environmental and human rights campaign groups. The contradictions and apparent hypocrisy of BlackRock's actions have politicised the ESG debate. The reputational damage of being dragged into this politically charged debate is very significant because it calls into question the independence of BlackRock as an asset manager.

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