Sunshine State is sunsetting BlackRock

“I need partners within the financial services industry who are as committed to the bottom line as we are — and I don’t trust BlackRock’s ability to deliver.” This was part of a damning statement from Florida state’s Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, in which he announced that Florida was pulling $2 billion of assets from BlackRock by the end of the year.

Patronis blamed BlackRock’s support for ESG for this sizeable divestment. He said it was a “social engineering project” which has “nothing to do with maximizing returns and is the opposite of what an asset manager is paid to do”.

ESG Today reported that BlackRock was “surprised” by the decision considering the “strong returns” BlackRock has delivered to Florida’s tax payers in recent years.

But this announcement marks the latest move in an ongoing anti-ESG push by Republican politicians in the US, and follows in the footsteps of Louisiana and Missouri which have also recently divested from BlackRock to protect their funds from “ESG” and “woke political” agendas.

So clearly, for some, “woke” is not working.

Touchéz, Vanguard.

Taking a more pre-emptive stance than its competitor BlackRock, Vanguard Group, one of the world’s biggest mutual fund managers, has said that it wants to prove independence to its investors, and so was pulling out of an investment-industry initiative to tackle climate change, reports Reuters. Known as the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative, the campaign launched in 2020 to encourage fund firms to reach net-zero emission targets by 2050 and limit a rise in global temperatures.

Vanguard’s announcement will be seen as a major blow to efforts to move industries away from fossil fuels, even though the fund manager has said this will “not affect its commitment to helping [its] investors navigate the risks that climate change can pose to their long-term returns”.

A change in the investment climate, for sure.

One of Topps Tiles’ top dogs under fire

Topps Tiles’ biggest shareholder has called for the removal of the company’s non-executive chairman, Darren Shapland, according to This is Money.

The shareholder, MSG, which owns nearly a 30% stake in Topps Tiles, has demanded that resolutions are added to the company’s upcoming AGM agenda to oust Shapland and appoint two candidates as non-executive directors.

In a stock market statement, Topps Tiles has strongly urged shareholders to reject this move, saying it’s not in their or the company’s best interests.

There is some history here. MSG owns Cersanit, a major European producer of tiles. Topps Tiles said MSG had, since 2021, approached it about the possibility of getting an MSG representative onto Topps Tiles’ board, and proposed that Topps Tiles should purchase a greater proportion of its tiles from Cersanit. A move that Topps Tiles rejected because it conflicted with its sourcing policy.

Sounds like a classic tile of two halves.

Vodafone boss calls it a day

Vodafone’s CEO Nick Read is stepping down after a “frustrating four years for shareholders”, says Reuters. The British telecom group’s chief executive will be gone by the end of the year, ending a four-year tenure during which Vodafone’s share price has nearly halved.

Vodafone’s Board was unhappy with Read’s lack of progress in delivering growth and has given his interim replacement, finance director Margherita Della Valle, the task of accelerating “the execution of the company’s strategy to improve operational performance and deliver shareholder value”.

In other words, brrring brring home the money.