The past 16 January, BlackRock published the Letter its President, Larry Fink, He annually goes to CEOs of companies in which the investment manager has participation.

The missive from this year media impact is due to the urgent wake-up call on the need to develop strategies that create value in the long run for the whole of society. Fink began contrasting the "enormous benefits" obtained by investors from the financial crisis with a distress, slow wage growth and inadequate pension schemes suffered by millions of citizens throughout the world.

In its responsibility to serve the interests of the clients of BlackRock, that, ultimately, are the owners of the companies in which it invests the managing, Fink stresses the need to adopt a purpose beyond the economic return and to work for "prosperity and the security of the whole population", which ultimately leads to the incorporation of social criteria, environmental and good government in business management.

The adoption of non-financial investment criteria is an increasingly widespread current on financial institutions that operate globally. As an example of clear positioning in this line, Norges Bank (the Norwegian sovereign wealth Fund) It has recently sold its participation in BAE Systems, AECOM and other companies involved in the production of nuclear weapons on the recommendation of its Ethics Committee.

In a step further, are financial institutions whose first mission is to promote investment in companies that manage social and environmental risks in a responsible manner. Example of this is the Italian Fund Manager Ethics SGR, in the Ethics Committee, he participated Carlos Cordero on behalf of Sustentia. Ethics SGR, property in a 51% of Banca Popolare ethics, It seeks to combine the profitability of their investments with the generation of positive impacts throughout the communities in which they operate.

The role of shareholders in the transformation of enterprises
Although Fink also notes the possibility to divest in companies whose strategy or long-term growth generates doubts, an increasing proportion of clients of BlackRock invests in passive funds that automatically replicate certain stock indices, the decisions of the Fund to buy or sell shares in particular companies which limits. Although today there are various indices that include social criteria, environmental and good government (the best known is FTSE4Good), Bet Fink by adopting a new role in the companies in which invests in order to generate a transformation in business.

In this line, BlackRock intends to change its role as shareholder, which means replace the current delegation of votes by an active participation in the management of the company and to open new avenues of ongoing communication, all with the ultimate goal of running away from short-term approaches and promote the creation of value for the whole of society.

Helping to build a prosperous society
According to Fink, the absence of a purpose on the decisions of business leads businesses to lose its social license and succumbing to the pressures shortsighted that prioritize the distribution of dividends, what it means to sacrifice innovation, the development of employment and investments needed to ensure the continuity of the business.

It's an analysis shared by different social actors such as Oxfam Intermón, last November he published the report «Dramatic differences», where exploring the practices of the companies of the Ibex 35 in terms of salaries, taxes and dividends. Wage differences, the proliferation of subsidiaries in tax havens and policy of distribution of dividends which shows the report make a call to rethink the objectives of these enterprises and the strategy of value creation of each long-term.

In 2017, BlackRock had significant participation in the majority of the companies of the Ibex and had a stake greater than or equal to the 5% in seven of them: Amadeus, BBVA, Cellnex, DAY, Mediaset, Santander and Telefónica. However, It is just a representation of the prominence of BlackRock international, with assets of 5.700.000 millions of dollars It is more the time asset management firm.

The fact that investors demonstrate one growing interest by the incorporation of social and environmental criteria in business decisions not only opens the door to a greater legitimacy of the business sector, but a transformation of the economy towards a more sustainable model.

Though the actual changes arising from this statement of intent only will see at the end of the next exercises, certain initiatives that make watching a paradigm shift. With the support of ESADE and the Association of inspectors of State Treasury, Oxfam Intermón and Sustentia come leading from 2016 a Working Group dedicated to the definition of indicators of fiscal responsibility. As a first result of this work, the Group met in February of 2017 with representatives of large companies from the banking sectors, textile, telecommunications, electric and extraction in order to build a common language and establish criteria in the definition of the concept of fiscal responsibility.

The collaboration between companies and activists is highlighted in the letter from Fink as a great potential in the search for solutions to new social challenges. The propositive capability of these initiatives will depend on the possibility of initiating a change that reinforce the steps taken by investors in the adoption of new criteria of business management.