BlackRock's former sustainable investing chief has called for CEO Larry Fink to resign over the firm's handling of ESG issues.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Tariq Fancy described Fink as an "emperor with no clothes" for failing to properly guide the company on sustainability issues, reports sister website Investment Week.
Fancy said: "Larry Fink should stop ducking the fight and enter the [ESG] debate to clarify what he is saying. If he is not going to do that then he should resign.
He warned that there was "no way to satisfy either side" of the debate, as activist investor groups have ramped up criticisms of BlackRock over ESG failures, while right-wing politicians have attacked BlackRock on its support for ESG.
Earlier this month, investor group BlueBall Capital Partners called for Fink to resign over his "hypocrisy" on the issue of thermal coal.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the US have increasingly begun to withdraw money from BlackRock, lashing out against its promotion of ESG "ideology".
In response, a spokesperson for BlackRock told The Telegraph: "It is absurd that he would suggest a chief executive step down who has delivered a cumulative total return to shareholders over 23 years of 7,700pc - the best performing financial firm in the S&P over that time - by consistently putting clients' interests first.
"The money BlackRock manages does not belong to Tariq Fancy or anyone else with a political agenda - it belongs to our clients. We will continue to manage that money consistent with their long-term goals and objectives, not those of Tariq Fancy."
