Since 2012, Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock – the world’s largest fund manager, overseeing $7 trillion worth of investments – has sent out an annual letter to CEOs of the companies that BlackRock invests in on behalf of its clients.

In the analysis presented here, GlobeScan traces the emergence and evolution of central themes in the letters from 2012 to 2020. This helps us better understand the shifting expectations for business and the extent to which purpose, stakeholder engagement, sustainability and particularly climate change are becoming more mainstream aspects of management.

Our analysis tracks the changing outlook, from the fiduciary imperative of good governance, to a societal obligation for purposeful leadership to this year’s demand for action on climate change, in the context of significantly restructured capital flows.