BlackRock C.E.O. Larry Fink:

In his influential annual letter to chief executives, Mr. Fink said his firm would avoid investments in companies that present a high sustainability-related risk. Laurence D. Fink, the founder and chief executive of , announced Tuesday that his firm would make investment decisions with environmental sustainability as a core goal. BlackRock is the worlds largest asset manager with nearly $7 trillion in investments, and this move will fundamentally shift its investing policy and could reshape how corporate America does business and put pressure on other large money managers to follow suit. Mr. Finks to the chief executives of the worlds largest companies is closely watched, and in the 2020 edition he said BlackRock would begin to exit certain investments that present a high sustainability-related risk, such as those in coal producers. His intent is to encourage every company, not just energy firms, to rethink their carbon footprints. Awareness is rapidly changing, and I believe we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance, Mr. Fink wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The New York Times. The evidence on climate risk is compelling investors to reassess core assumptions about modern finance. The firm, he wrote, would also introduce new funds that shun fossil fuel-oriented stocks, move more aggressively to vote against management teams that are not making progress on sustainability, and press companies to disclose plans for operating under a scenario where the Paris Agreements goal of limiting global warming to less than two degrees is fully realized. Mr. Fink has not always been the first to address social issues, but his annual letter such as his dictum two years ago that companies has the influence to change the conversations inside boardrooms around the globe. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and your Times account, or for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? . Want all of The Times? .