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BlackRock: The Company That Controls* the World's Governments [video]

17 points by evo_9 3y ago

lucisferre 3y ago
This is extremely shallow Youtube content that amounts mostly to a stream of stock video shots with a voice over. Blackrock and Vanguard have the largest market weighted index funds. By definition they simply hold the market. They are completely neutral in terms of investment quantities. Nothing in this seems to support the title conclusion at all. In fact the speaker seems to imply that they have very little, if any, influence on countries like Russia and China. Most, if not all, of the actual claims made in this video are not supported beyond being stated. No references are given, nor are their sources, interviews or anything else. This should not be considered "journalism".
- Havoc 3y ago
  To be fair this video does at least highlight (2:42 mark) that their clients own all the shares in the companies, not Blackrock itself. ...so it's already a solid step above the usual "Blackrock controls the world" videos.
  - silisili 3y ago
    It's not a valid refute, at all. Blackrock and Vanguard aren't calling me or you to ask what companies we want to invest in. These companies should all be broken up, either via a max allowed amount or making the practice illegal altogether.
    - lucisferre 3y ago
      What? Why? They invest based on market cap for starters. Second, no fund managers call their unit holders to decide what to buy, the suggestion itself is ridiculous.
      - silisili 3y ago
        Of course they don't, that's why it's equally ridiculous for them to say they don't have the power because it's not their money. These companies have far too much power. Regardless your feelings on ESG, Blackrock pretty much made every company in the US kowtow. That's too much power for any one company to have...
- boeingUH60 3y ago
  Agree, this is pure clickbait for the ignorant…but it makes viewers feel smart and having secret knowledge like conspiracy theorists.
- goodbyesf 3y ago
  > They are completely neutral in terms of investment quantities. They are not completely neutral since 'they' own large blocks of major companies which gives them commensurate voting power and immense influence over every major company. The simplest fix to this is deny funds any voting rights and to give the votes to the individuals who invest in these funds - index or mutual, closed or open ended. It's a logistic nightmare but either the individuals get the vote or nobody does. > In fact the speaker seems to imply that they have very little, if any, influence on countries like Russia and China. Why would they? They don't have a major presence in these countries. Though I'm sure both want access to china. > Most, if not all, of the actual claims made in this video are not supported beyond being stated. It isn't a secret that these two had undue influence in corporate america. Go to any major company and check their top institutional holders. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/META/holders?p=META https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/META/holders?p=META You'll almost always see blackrock and vanguard amongst the major shareholders. The problem is that they get to vote when the people who invest in these funds should be the ones given the vote. It's really an industry wide problem, not an individual fund company problem.

17 points by evo_9 3y ago

This is extremely shallow Youtube content that amounts mostly to a stream of stock video shots with a voice over. Blackrock and Vanguard have the largest market weighted index funds. By definition they simply hold the market. They are completely neutral in terms of investment quantities. Nothing in this seems to support the title conclusion at all. In fact the speaker seems to imply that they have very little, if any, influence on countries like Russia and China. Most, if not all, of the actual claims made in this video are not supported beyond being stated. No references are given, nor are their sources, interviews or anything else. This should not be considered "journalism".

Havoc 3y ago
To be fair this video does at least highlight (2:42 mark) that their clients own all the shares in the companies, not Blackrock itself. ...so it's already a solid step above the usual "Blackrock controls the world" videos.
- silisili 3y ago
  It's not a valid refute, at all. Blackrock and Vanguard aren't calling me or you to ask what companies we want to invest in. These companies should all be broken up, either via a max allowed amount or making the practice illegal altogether.
  - lucisferre 3y ago
    What? Why? They invest based on market cap for starters. Second, no fund managers call their unit holders to decide what to buy, the suggestion itself is ridiculous.
    - silisili 3y ago
      Of course they don't, that's why it's equally ridiculous for them to say they don't have the power because it's not their money. These companies have far too much power. Regardless your feelings on ESG, Blackrock pretty much made every company in the US kowtow. That's too much power for any one company to have...
boeingUH60 3y ago
Agree, this is pure clickbait for the ignorant…but it makes viewers feel smart and having secret knowledge like conspiracy theorists.
goodbyesf 3y ago
> They are completely neutral in terms of investment quantities. They are not completely neutral since 'they' own large blocks of major companies which gives them commensurate voting power and immense influence over every major company. The simplest fix to this is deny funds any voting rights and to give the votes to the individuals who invest in these funds - index or mutual, closed or open ended. It's a logistic nightmare but either the individuals get the vote or nobody does. > In fact the speaker seems to imply that they have very little, if any, influence on countries like Russia and China. Why would they? They don't have a major presence in these countries. Though I'm sure both want access to china. > Most, if not all, of the actual claims made in this video are not supported beyond being stated. It isn't a secret that these two had undue influence in corporate america. Go to any major company and check their top institutional holders. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/META/holders?p=META https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/META/holders?p=META You'll almost always see blackrock and vanguard amongst the major shareholders. The problem is that they get to vote when the people who invest in these funds should be the ones given the vote. It's really an industry wide problem, not an individual fund company problem.