Focus on Intangibles
Letters from State Street and BlackRock indicate the emphasis investors now place on corporate culture and intangible assets. 21 January 2019
Ali Saribas comments to Gavin Hinks at the Board Agenda on the recent letters published by BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors. It has become common practice for the largest index providers to write an annual letter to boards of directors and/or CEOs of their investee companies to outline their environmental, social and governance (ESG) areas of focus for the upcoming year. BlackRock’s letter is addressed to CEOs rather than board members, which differentiates its tone and content from that of the SSgA letter. For your reference we have hyperlinked the letters that State Street Global Advisors and BlackRock in the third week of January 2019.
SquareWell notes that the current playing field for companies is becoming an increasingly complex environment in which to operate; potentially leading to a loss of focus on issues that matter to the business. Fundamentally, companies exist to make a profit and investors provide capital to companies in order to earn a return. Within this reality, as also encouraged by the recently revised UK Corporate Governance Code and the British Academy’s ‘Future of the Corporation’ project, companies should be cognizant of the broader impact their businesses may have on their stakeholders when deliberating their strategy and defining their corporate purpose.
You can access the article here.
