U.S. asset manager Blackrock has utilized passive investment funds to become the world’s most important owner of shares, making it a weighty player in the global markets.
The American asset manager Blackrock is the world’s biggest issuer of passive investment funds, which have proven a fertile market for investors in recent years. While the $6.3 trillion in managed assets are passive investments, they give the U.S. financial giant an influence over listed companies which is anything but passive.
The journalist network «Investigate Europe» has, together with the University of Amsterdam, calculated Blackrock’s direct holdings, or those through subsidiaries. They concluded that together with its rivals Vanguard and State Street, it has become so powerful that in some branches, like the U.S. airline sector, that it hinders free and open market activities, the Swiss daily «Der Bund» reported Monday.
Finely Woven Holdings Net
What is noticeable in Switzerland, are the substantial Blackrock holdings in firms such as building materials company Sika, which has been caught for years in a power struggle between the owner-family and the company management. According to Sika, 3.41 percent of its shares are held by Blackrock. In reality, Blackrock controls more than 9.3 percent of Sika shares thanks to its finely woven network of subsidiary firms, according to the newspaper report.
Similarly with the chemical company Lonza in the canton of Valais. According to Lonza, Blackrock holds 9.67 percent of Lonza’s shares, in reality though it is 11.6 percent, as «Investigate Europe» reported. Blackrock declined to comment on the claims.
