14/04/2014
BlackRock calls on European businesses to invest
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } BlackRock has called European chiefs to order. The US asset management giant has sent a letter to 150 large European corporates, asking them not to abuse dividends and share buybacks, if the remuneration of shareholders is achieved to the detriment of future growth, Les Echos reports, on the basis of a copy of the letter it has obtained. It is the same letter which BlackRock sent to the S&P 500 corporate heads at the end of March. “After the financial crisis, many companies haven’t dared to invest in their future growth, and that concerns us,” writes Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock. “Too many companies have reduced their investments, and even increased their debt to be able to increase their dividends and their share buybacks. … The redistribution of cash to shareholders should be part of a balanced management strategy. If it is done for bad reasons and to the detriment of investment, it could threaten the ability of the company to sustainably generate long-term returns.”
