BlackRock has cancelled meetings with companies in the middle of shareholder battles because it fears that it could violate guidance on investor activism that the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued last week.
BlackRock and other asset managers typically talk with companies about voting ahead of activism campaigns and also about routine proxy ballot issues at annual shareholder meetings.
But that practice has been called into question by the SEC’s guidance, which has been widely interpreted as an attack on using environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investing. The change imposes more onerous regulatory requirements on fund managers that may be seeking to influence corporate behaviour.