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By Ross Kerber and Niket Nishant
(Reuters) -Top asset manager BlackRock said on Thursday that 67% of votes cast at its annual meeting were in support of its executive pay, a modest gain over last year, as CEO Larry Fink offered assurances about the state of the global economy and defended the company's course on environmental and social issues.
Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services had recommended that investors vote against the pay of top executives including Fink, who received $30.8 million in 2024.
ISS said BlackRock did not sufficiently address investors' compensation concerns in 2023, when only 59% of votes cast supported the pay of top executives, citing issues like a lack of clarity on pay determinations.
This year's result was still relatively low compared to the roughly 90% average support for S&P 500 companies this year.
A BlackRock representative declined to comment on how it might respond to the outcome, but cited material in filings describing how the pay followed a year of record inflows, revenue and operating income.
The other major proxy adviser, Glass Lewis, had recommended that investors vote in favor of the pay.
Fink said during the meeting that while tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump have been disruptive, the story is not over.
"Markets have partially recovered. Investors want to be optimistic but there's still quite a bit of anxiety and uncertainty. The market's disruption this year is different than we've seen in shocks since the financial crisis. There isn't systemic risk. There isn't a pandemic. Our financial system is safe and sound," he said.
Like rivals, BlackRock become more supportive of environmental, social and governance issues starting in 2020, then walked back many of those steps under pressure from U.S. conservatives. During the meeting, Fink said BlackRock only seeks to reflect client wishes.
As a result of client choices, "we are the largest investor in both hydrocarbons and the largest investor in renewables," he said.
A conservative-backed resolution critical of BlackRock's approach to ESG won only 1% support, the company said during the meeting. Each of its 18 director nominees were easily elected with average support over 98%.
(Reporting by Ross Kerber. Editing by Jan Harvey and Mark Porter)