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Tunto_Bungus t1_itytin2 wrote

I wish any of our protesting meant anything anymore. But these people know the begging is only peaceful, and they will wait the screams and begs for any change out in their ivory towers while sneering.

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Skizm t1_itz3gt4 wrote

Why BlackRock? Aren’t they pretty ESG friendly compared to others?

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GVas22 t1_itz3zzk wrote

Funny because BlackRock has been under fire from the right for taking too much of a pro ESG stance.

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Jack_Sandwich t1_itz4b57 wrote

Yeah, good luck with that. BlackRock has more global clout than most nations’ governments. I don’t think a half dozen protestors making a scene in the lobby has them quaking in their $1,000 boots. And I think we need to be more diligent with the use of the word “stormed.”

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TimSPC t1_itz4m29 wrote

That's a really nice atrium. I miss listening to Chuck Folds play the piano there.

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El_Gato t1_itz4z3z wrote

Stormed? That crew ain't stormin' nothin..... and there's like 10 of them.

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GreenTunicKirk t1_itz5ltk wrote

Fuck Blackrock.

I did a gig there years back on one of the event floors. During a break, I poured myself a cup of coffee and grabbed a cookie from the food station. As I went back to start playing again, one of the suits rattled me for “taking what wasn’t mine”

So you can ask me to entertain you but not let me have a pitiful cup of drip coffee and a dumb little cookie? Fuck outta here.

Fuck Blackrock for a lot of reasons but that’s a personal story.

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robot_pancake t1_itz63yy wrote

“Stormed” is definitely the wrong word here.

The protest makes for good marketing material though. You hand out a pamphlet with this picture and contextualize it with information about their stance—and it becomes far more powerful. This is only one part of their greater communication strategy.

No minds in that building were changed, but that wasn’t the point.

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Skizm t1_itz68tc wrote

More marketing, but yea it’s mostly greenwashing. Companies don’t really have any other levers to pull besides sending letter asking companies to pollute less though since they have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders. BlackRock at least shoots off a few public letters and has justified shifting some capital by claiming pollution is bad for returns. It’s not much but my point is still, of all the evil banks, why BlackRock lol.

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EditorPractical9424 t1_itz6kie wrote

I mean, nothing is gonna change through the legal process in this bought country.

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_Maxolotl t1_itz6qi7 wrote

I was promised pitchforks. Disappointing.

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robot_pancake t1_itz6scv wrote

On the other spectrum, you’ve got Bloomberg, which is famous for its floors—yeah, floors—of fresh fruit, snacks, and coffee that are available for anyone inside. That BlackRock suit sounds like an ass.

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Jack_Sandwich t1_itz6snr wrote

Here is a decent summary article on the underlying flaws in concepts. https://quillette.com/2022/03/02/the-problem-with-the-diversity-dividend/

And you may also want to look at what happened to Sri Lanka, what is happening to Germany. Governments that prioritized ESG scoring, and the disastrous consequences for their economies, their working class people. Spoiler alert: the uber rich all come out okay.

And finally a great little snippet from Vivek Ramaswamy who writes and comments extensively on this: https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1577273895526318081?s=20&t=EIe7EpNIyBUm1tzZLKdNSA

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olorinii t1_itz75ec wrote

There are dozens of us! Dozens!

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Brooklynhoosier t1_itz7n08 wrote

I admire the guts to go after financial institutions on climate change but that’s like trying drain the ocean. Unless it’s sanctioned by the govt money always finds a way. And even then…

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robot_pancake t1_itz8afz wrote

Thanks for the links!

How is it blackmail if companies and governments aren’t forced to purchase these funds? One of Tariq’s main points (first vid) is that purchasing an ESG fund doesn’t stop other institutions and larger market players from buying non-ESG funds, which softens divestment initiatives. Tariq also argues that investment is only part of the solution—carbon taxes, caps—whatever we call it—require governments and markets to be in lockstep to make meaningful change.

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Souperplex t1_itz8dvy wrote

I find it hilarious that some really evil companies pick the evilest names they can. Blackrock, Bain Capital, Blackwater, etc. The kinds of names where if you gave them to a fictitious evil company people would say it's too on the nose.

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LoneStarTallBoi t1_itz8wmz wrote

It never was! The whole point of nonviolent protest was to say "please give us what we want before we stop being nonviolent" but it got twisted into "if you can't accomplish it with polite chanting, it isn't worth doing"

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barrystrawbridgess t1_itz963r wrote

Black Rock has some of the largest fossil fuel investments. Your company shouldn't invest in fossil fuels or we make you look bad. Meanwhile, Blackrock and Vanguard are increasing their interests in fossil fuels. Telling governments to not question them about it. That's the whole point of these "protestors".

https://www.oilandgas360.com/blackrock-raises-4-5-billion-for-climate-fund-amid-fossil-fuel-criticism/

https://www.oilandgas360.com/blackrock-tells-uk-no-to-halting-investment-in-coal-oil-and-gas/

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Tunto_Bungus t1_itza3jh wrote

In the past, it was a plea to the upper classes to acknowledge the stance of the lower classes OR ELSE. Now there's no or else. Governments serve strictly the wealthy, so they weaponize military and police forces against any inkling of an "OR ELSE" occurring.

Protests no longer serve a purpose. If anything, its just one more thing for your rich white boomer uncle to whine about being "disrespected" for at the Thanksgiving table.

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dogsontreadmills t1_itzai2t wrote

TIL “stormed” means 12 people, 2 banners and some rocks.

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603er t1_itzd7hy wrote

Did we do it? Did we stop funding climate stuff?

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sumgye t1_itzdrbn wrote

I mean they basically invented ESG and environmentally conscious investing, or at least made it mainstream. This is like surging Apple HQ because they are using child labor. Like yes, but they have also pushed very hard to erratically it.

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Locutus_Picard t1_itzf1ek wrote

Aaaaaaand nothing will change. Just another tantrum by the same babies that will eventually own Blackrock stock if they can find employment with their useless degrees anyway.

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canadianD t1_itzg02i wrote

> stormed

Lol okay bro.

Theres like 3 Banners and 2 Spirit Halloween pitch forks.

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_Maxolotl t1_itzg96y wrote

Actually the study I linked to is by a professor whose findings were, broadly, that from the mid to late 20th century nonviolent protest was more successful than insurrection, but then the bastards figured out how to counter nonviolent protest effectively, and by the early 21st century nonviolent protest and insurrection were about equally effective, but the efficacy of nonviolent protest is continuing to weaken.

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TrekkerMcTrekkerface t1_itzijig wrote

I think we all agree; that headline does not delivery on its promises.

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JustFerd t1_itzm8kq wrote

They lucky black rock security force didn't get involved

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GoldenPresidio t1_itzmxap wrote

I think your post his fair but the guy above you is still correct. ESG claims are under fire because companies are claiming to reduce the impact to the environment and providing more transparency, but a lot of it is BS

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TeaTrees t1_itzobjb wrote

Yeah “very misleading” was a bit of an exaggeration. I guess my point is that there is lots of controversy within how different people claim to apply esg, but it’s not the idea of esg itself that is controversial

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tamwafle t1_itzpmvh wrote

Blackrock is of course destructive to the extent it’s an avatar of late capitalism. And yet this is still very cringe.

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oldtrenzalore t1_itzs3f0 wrote

The person that's going to clean up those rocks for minimum wage doesn't even work for BlackRock.

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Locutus_Picard t1_itztily wrote

Not if you want to get good returns, there’s a reason their called the 4th pillar of the government.

Those who don’t give a shit about BR have no clue about investing anyway.

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gamut_coax_0d t1_itzuigw wrote

Investment firms should have never touched ESG. It's a can of worms. Tying politics to finance means to the right, you're always overstepping your bounds, and to the left, you're never doing enough. You can't win.

Also it doesn't help that the big three firms appear to be colluding in their ESG efforts. SEC is going to put them in a world of hurt if R's gain power in 2024.

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Guypussy t1_itzvzat wrote

This made 12-15 people feel really good about themselves and that’s about it.

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dhdhdfjffjj t1_iu01ry0 wrote

But you know who loves ESG? Investment banks, it’s their biggest cash cow now, and they really don’t need to do shit to maintain it, most of the industry is pretty much a closed loop

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mrdnp123 t1_iu030fd wrote

The right place? Republicans have withdrawn billions from their funds because they’re investing in ESG. Pissing the group of people who can actually drive real change with big money. At least know your shit before you go and protest

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f4therfucker t1_iu0ckq2 wrote

Chevron is the 8th largest holding in Blackrock’s core ESG fund, so even if only a small number of firms that claim ESG credentials are fraud, the investment products themselves are also bullshit.

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TeaTrees t1_iu0g1xj wrote

I was just pointing out the way you used it in the sentence was misleading. My point is that esg is a idea, not a thing, it’s like ethics. You wouldn’t say ethics itself is under fire, you would say many firms are under fire for ethics-washing.

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PoopyPicker t1_iu0gen9 wrote

I would argue picketing outside in your designated spot is ineffective. People forget civil disobedience meant nonviolently breaking the law, getting arrested en mass, and disrupting services to be noticed.

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indirectdelete t1_iu0htlh wrote

Very relevant quote from Your Politics Are Boring As Fuck

“The truth is, your politics are boring to them because they really are irrelevant. They know that your antiquated styles of protest—your marches, hand held signs, and gatherings—are now powerless to effect real change because they have become such a predictable part of the status quo. They know that your post-Marxist jargon is off-putting because it really is a language of mere academic dispute, not a weapon capable of undermining systems of control. They know that your infighting, your splinter groups and endless quarrels over ephemeral theories can never effect any real change in the world they experience from day to day. They know that no matter who is in office, what laws are on the books, what "ism"s the intellectuals march under, the content of their lives will remain the same. They—we—know that our boredom is proof that these "politics" are not the key to any real transformation of life. For our lives are boring enough already!”

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wwcfm t1_iu0iuqq wrote

ESG investing and more broadly finance is in its infancy. Calling it a fiction is objectively incorrect. Greenwashing exists and the industry is aware. The effort is being made to regulate and standardize ESG finance. These things take time. The EU is definitely leading the charge, but it’s growing quickly in the US as well.

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SanDieganNewYorker t1_iu0mqg2 wrote

If those rocks were taken from Central Park (not allowed), I’ll be hopping mad.

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mrdnp123 t1_iu0mtus wrote

Despite changing their ways and investing billions into renewable resources, screw them? They’re leading the way lol renewables will only take hold when companies invest in it. Which they’re doing. Meanwhile these spoilt brats achieve nothing. Be the change you wanna see. Blocking escalators isn’t doing shit

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frogvscrab t1_iu0n8t3 wrote

People would take these protests more seriously if it actually looked like normal working class people at them and not a handful of NYU students.

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Pool_Shark t1_iu0nr3a wrote

Protests are legal because it lets people feel like they are doing something. Without a legal form of protesting people would be more quick to resort to violence which is the only thing that scares the rich

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Imagine357 t1_iu0okt6 wrote

I work for a European institution and don’t see institutions like Blackrock being as mature. The non-banks financial services firms / hedge fund like entities generally care more about money than sustainable investing.

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Shivari t1_iu0vpqa wrote

“Don’t protest, just post online running cover for wealth hoarders”

Ok, thanks!

Seriously if you think Blackrock is even .1% benevolent I have a bridge to sell you

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bored_and_scrolling t1_iu0w2bt wrote

They will ONLY do what makes their stakeholders money. you’re delusional if you think they’d do anything good for the world in lieu of profits. You’ll literally get booted from the board for that. On rare occasion those two things will coincide, what is good for the planet / public and what makes money but in the OVERWHELMING majority of situations what is good for the private profits of blackrock is NOT good for the public

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ImaginaryFreedom7 t1_iu10ypm wrote

Grab someone off the street and ask them what they think ESG is and they will more than likely describe impact investing and allocating dollars to sustainable investments. That’s not what ESG integration is. It’s using ESG related information/data to help inform investment decisions and how the data might affect risk and return. A Sustainable Fund’s objective may be to have better ESG characteristics than its benchmark. Just because chevron or other energy in general is a holding doesn’t make that untrue. A large part of ESG scoring is the direction a company is moving.

Naturally if a fund or etf is greenwashing or declaring untrue statements about how they invest there are issues. Blackrock has a team of lawyers regarding their disclosures in their ESG products but a lot of the issues boils down to 1) not a common framework for disclosures and 2) different esg definition among different stakeholders.

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CheshireCatastrophe t1_iu129uo wrote

Love the person in the background screaming like a deaf animal.

No hate or anything, I just came across this, I took nothing else from this.

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Lovat69 t1_iu156dd wrote

>Grab someone off the street and ask them what they think ESG is and they will more than likely describe impact investing and allocating dollars to sustainable investments.

Grab someone off the street and most of them won't have any clue what you're talking about. Let's be realistic.

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dirty-vizzer t1_iu1a6u0 wrote

Some people just have too much time on their hands.

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wwcfm t1_iu1bx4s wrote

Did you edit your comment? I originally took it to mean ESG is greenwashing, but now your comment reads more specific to BlackRock. Maybe my recollection is bad.

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Imagine357 t1_iu1d54e wrote

No edits - but to clarify - I’m critical of the greenwashing taking place by many firms, of which I suspect hedge funds and other non-bank market participants of facilitating. Mentally, I put firms like Blackrock in this bucket as they tend to skirt regulation by their nature as a non-bank. Moreover, they are American and not European, and I know how little US regulators are pushing the climate agenda in comparison to the EU.

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Fig85420 t1_iu1e6ik wrote

This is quite the sad display of "storming"

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someliskguy t1_iu1e7he wrote

Lol that woman just trotting down the escalator like it's another normal day.

"Blackrock hears ya, Blackrock don't care."

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NoGround t1_iu1r2it wrote

Countering nonviolent protests will eventually bite them in the ass. Maybe not in our lifetime but bloody revolutions are unstoppable tides once the dam breaks.

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catbro25 t1_iu23mr0 wrote

Why is one of them dressed as a priest?

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BDnDSM_DM t1_iu29s38 wrote

More footage here. This was actually the second protest at BlackRock in the past week, last Wednesday 28 members of GreenFaith were arrested for taking over the lobby, 10 members of XR and various other groups yesterday.

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mematixta t1_iu29teo wrote

The rocks in the escalator is an expensive fix.

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shemp33 t1_iu2g6ki wrote

Huh. "Stormed" - I remember going to the Starbucks in the ground floor lobby of that building as I would cut through on my way to work in the mornings.

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bkime1010 t1_iu3ajh3 wrote

12 people, 8 pebbles, one girl holding 6 pitchforks, and 4 banners is considered a “storm”

And it’s all being stopped by a 1 middle aged security guard from the stairs?

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BenHogan1971 t1_iu3sii0 wrote

did no one glue their head to the wall?

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sleeptrain123 t1_iu47ekl wrote

A huge part of Blackrock’s AUM is passive index funds and ETFs, where you just own the whole market rather than picking specific investments. If they offer a fund that tracks the SP500, and the SP500 contains oil and gas companies, then the idea that Blackrock or any asset manager should just refuse to buy their shares, is absurd.

Also, much like the car companies who are pivoting to electric, the oil and gas companies will have a key role to play in moving away from fossil fuels. Equity capital exists, divesting from them doesn’t make it disappear, it just means someone else owns it. Asking Blackrock or any other asset manager to sell of their oil and gas holdings is absolutely meaningless

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sleeptrain123 t1_iu49e6p wrote

Banks make loans or help the entity to raise debt by underwriting bond offerings, which are used for capital investment, business expansions, new pipelines etc. They’re not investing your deposits into public equities, they’re not allowed to do that.

Asset Managers are typically investing in the public equities, where they’re passive (they’re just buying whatever is in the benchmark they’re tracking) or they’re active (so they may be overweighting towards certain stocks but typically are measured against a benchmark which contains all manner of stocks).

One is an active decision to extend credit to companies to expand and invest, the other is more based on the fact that these companies exist and if you offer a product that tracks the stock market you can’t just choose to exclude companies from that. From a fiduciary perspective, it would be impossible. That’s why so many asset managers are rushing to offer personalized and thematic investment product, so the decision can lay with the individual. I.e a US equity index product but excluding companies based on GICS classifications, ESG scores, or thematic baskets.

When you divest equity, it doesn’t just cease to exist. Someone else buys it. If blackrock sold all the oil and gas stocks they own, they would simply pass into the ownership of other entities. That’s why anyone with half a brain realizes that asking asset managers to just divest from fossil stocks is pointless and most likely dangerous.

So that’s how the way that banks invest and asset managers invest is quite different. It’s reasonable to not want banks to offer credit to fossil fuel companies, that would hurt those companies, it’s downright stupid to want asset managers to simply sell the stocks of companies we don’t like. It just means that ownership stake and voice is diluted, and passed to other entities.

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sleeptrain123 t1_iu4b0li wrote

Some do, but they’re distinct entities and the funds are completely ring fenced. Wells Fargo, Schwab, JPM etc…the banks and asset management arms are separate legal entities. A bank can’t invest deposits in anything they want. Asset managers are typically bound by the SEC and the investment company act of 1940, banks are under supervision of the fed. The regulatory scrutiny of banks is much higher.

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sleeptrain123 t1_iu4eykj wrote

Nothing you said relates to that point. It’s not a case of ‘owning’, it’s an opportunity for you to learn something. You can choose whether you do that, or you can choose to continue to not understand the difference between a bank and an asset manager. You said conceptually the video was the same for both, I pointed out that it’s not, you then asked what ‘pendantic’ point I was making, and are now defensive rather than just accepting that you’re wrong. It’s the Reddit way

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sleeptrain123 t1_iu4hv4q wrote

“When you store your money with an institution, they will use that money however they want”

Literally that point alone is just categorically not true. There are very rules about what banks can use deposits for, and any publicly offered investment product by an asset manager has legally binding prospectus and investment disclosures (callled an ADV) which details the objective of the fund, what they’re allowed to invest in, the risk they can take, and what they’re not allowed to invest in. Again, this isn’t a debatable point.

Seriously, just stop, you’re embarrassing yourself. If pointing out that you have a childlike view of finance is pedantic, then I guess I’m guilty as charged!

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lazerphace t1_iu4wssr wrote

bet they took ubers to get here lol

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NoGround t1_iu5hqo3 wrote

It does nothing of the sort. It is literally a link to a video about what BlackRock is and blunt statement telling you to go look it up yourself since your tone is the opposite of someone who will be convinced of any facts thrown in your face. I have no desire to talk with someone with a tone like that, since it is a waste of time and energy. If you are interested, you will look it up on your own.

Every system has its good and bad sides. Capitalism, like every other system that strives to reach an ideal, needs checks and balances in order to not become a rampant cancer of itself due to human intervention.

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Bjj-lyfe t1_iu7nyvy wrote

No one gives a shit how it’s performed in 2005. Right now it’s performing the same as the s&p 500. Keep going with your stock picks though, sounds like you’re quite the investing guru

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Keyboard-King t1_iuc8m77 wrote

Blackrock is one of the richest companies in the world. Who do they think they are to stand against them? Much of the land in the U.S. is owned by Blackrock.

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