Free Republic

If a business wants to operate under “green” rules (or Marxist rules, or whatever sort), it is free to do so — and suffer the consequences. Investors may choose to put their money into such businesses if they want to take the risk. Or maybe the inventor prefers to put his money into an index fund that has announced its commitment to invest only in firms that have certain operating frameworks, such as minimizing carbon emissions. Again, no problem, as long as the investor knows ahead of time where the index fund will or will not put his money. But...

Climate change poses two distinct risks for investors, and a special one for fund managers. The pledge last week by Larry Fink, CEO of fund giant BlackRock Inc., to push clients toward environmental, social and governance investing highlights another risk: that markets are shifting from harnessing the wisdom of crowds to the wisdom of a handful of powerful money-management executives. Leave the pros and cons of ESG aside for a moment. Whatever you think of Mr. Fink’s view, his letter highlights the power he wields over the direction of corporate America, thanks to the votes of BlackRock’s extensive holdings. Shareholders...

Larry Fink’s recent letters to CEOs and investors were certain to press buttons, because they dealt with BlackRock’s plans to address climate change. Yet the reactions, Fink tells Barron’s, have been positive even as climate change has become a political football. “I received one of the great letters of my career from a client in a red state,” says the CEO of BlackRock (ticker: BLK). “This client was very thankful. This client said, ‘We have a 10- to 20-year investment horizon. We now need to look at how we think about investing.’ ” BlackRock puts climate-risk analysis at the heart...