Megan Basham

So its 2025 annual report filed last Tuesday is missing the DEI commitments that were boilerplate for BlackRock investor letters in recent years. Instead, it now has strong meritocracy language. It talks about attracting the best people from across the world and supporting top talent and fostering diverse perspectives to avoid groupthink.

So its 2025 annual report filed last Tuesday is missing the DEI commitments that were boilerplate for BlackRock investor letters in recent years. Instead, it now has strong meritocracy language. It talks about attracting the best people from across the world and supporting top talent and fostering diverse perspectives to avoid groupthink.

And according to the journal, BlackRock is dropping its internal DEI hiring requirements as well. An internal memo said managers no longer have to make sure to interview a certain number of minority candidates for jobs either. And then a couple more concrete data points. The firm has backed out of the group Net Zero Asset Managers, which is a UN-sponsored climate coalition.

And according to the journal, BlackRock is dropping its internal DEI hiring requirements as well. An internal memo said managers no longer have to make sure to interview a certain number of minority candidates for jobs either. And then a couple more concrete data points. The firm has backed out of the group Net Zero Asset Managers, which is a UN-sponsored climate coalition.

And while it launched 30 ESG funds between 2019 and 2023, BlackRock has not launched any since the first quarter of 2024.

And while it launched 30 ESG funds between 2019 and 2023, BlackRock has not launched any since the first quarter of 2024.

Well, you know, part of it was certainly public image. When your average suburban mom starts to know the name of BlackRock and associate it with wokeness, that's an issue. But also some concrete losses started to accrue for BlackRock from that association. Several red states sued the company for placing its political views above its fiduciary duties in managing pension funds.

Well, you know, part of it was certainly public image. When your average suburban mom starts to know the name of BlackRock and associate it with wokeness, that's an issue. But also some concrete losses started to accrue for BlackRock from that association. Several red states sued the company for placing its political views above its fiduciary duties in managing pension funds.

Others passed laws against ESG investing of public funds and promised to stop doing business with BlackRock altogether. And then you had the Republican-led House subpoenaing BlackRock for hearings. I think Fink is a true believer in these progressive policies, and he seemed to believe for a while that he could carefully navigate the issue by using different rhetoric.

Others passed laws against ESG investing of public funds and promised to stop doing business with BlackRock altogether. And then you had the Republican-led House subpoenaing BlackRock for hearings. I think Fink is a true believer in these progressive policies, and he seemed to believe for a while that he could carefully navigate the issue by using different rhetoric.

But I think when Donald Trump not only won the election, but the popular vote, it was clear at that point that a new era was dawning and it wasn't going to be possible to simply wait it out. Now, how much influence do you think this will have in the rest of the industry? Oh, I think it's going to be huge. BlackRock is the largest asset manager in the world. It sets the terms in this business.

But I think when Donald Trump not only won the election, but the popular vote, it was clear at that point that a new era was dawning and it wasn't going to be possible to simply wait it out. Now, how much influence do you think this will have in the rest of the industry? Oh, I think it's going to be huge. BlackRock is the largest asset manager in the world. It sets the terms in this business.

If they think that wokeness is now bad for business, other investment managers, large and small, are going to follow their lead. And you're already seeing a lot of them like Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and Citigroup doing just that.

If they think that wokeness is now bad for business, other investment managers, large and small, are going to follow their lead. And you're already seeing a lot of them like Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and Citigroup doing just that.

Well, you know, Kennedy took over the franchise in 2012 and despite a few successful products like the Mandalorian, she very prominently embraced the girl power model. And meanwhile, the iconic characters that fans love like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo they were kind of deconstructed. In fact, you could even argue that Luke's character was so subverted that he actually became a bad guy.

Well, you know, Kennedy took over the franchise in 2012 and despite a few successful products like the Mandalorian, she very prominently embraced the girl power model. And meanwhile, the iconic characters that fans love like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo they were kind of deconstructed. In fact, you could even argue that Luke's character was so subverted that he actually became a bad guy.

And so a lot of fans objected to this new sort of feminist bent of Star Wars and also the Indiana Jones franchise. And ultimately, the trend became a cultural punchline, which I think was pretty well captured in an infamous South Park clip.

And so a lot of fans objected to this new sort of feminist bent of Star Wars and also the Indiana Jones franchise. And ultimately, the trend became a cultural punchline, which I think was pretty well captured in an infamous South Park clip.

Bottom line, with each new Star Wars film and series, you saw the fan base diminish. And you think this is part of a larger shift in Hollywood? Well, there's definitely signs of that. So multiple A-list actors, including Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford, appeared in unmistakably patriotic Super Bowl ads this year.

Bottom line, with each new Star Wars film and series, you saw the fan base diminish. And you think this is part of a larger shift in Hollywood? Well, there's definitely signs of that. So multiple A-list actors, including Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford, appeared in unmistakably patriotic Super Bowl ads this year.