BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink said the $5.9tn fund manager will pressure company bosses on diversity, long-term pay and bonuses and the environment this year... He also returned to a favourite theme: a call for companies to take more responsibility for ensuring their workers have a good standard of living in retirement... But the [letter]... fell a long way short of the demands of green campaigners who targeted BlackRock yesterday with a fake letter from Fink, successfully hoaxing some media organisations.

“The world needs your leadership,” [Fink] told his readership of chief executives... He also set out his belief that environmental leadership, social responsibility and good corporate governance “will be increasingly meaningful to corporate valuations” as trillions in wealth assets transfer to millennial investors. He cited surveys that claim younger savers care more than their parents about social issues... He said BlackRock would focus on five areas in its discussions with companies in 2019: “governance, including your company’s approach to board diversity; corporate strategy and capital allocation; compensation that promotes long-termism; environmental risks and opportunities; and human capital management”.