This month in the U.S., we saw political alienation – fueled by lies and political opportunism – erupt into violence. And more recently, it has exacerbated the political turmoil in the U.S. Several months into the year, the pandemic collided with a wave of historic protests for racial justice in the United States and around the world.
The pandemic has also accelerated deeper trends, from the growing retirement crisis to systemic inequalities.
And although the stock market recovery bodes well for growth as the pandemic subsides, the current situation remains one of economic devastation, with unemployment severely elevated, small businesses shuttering daily, and families around the world struggling to pay rent and buy food. While some industries, particularly those that depend on people congregating in person, have suffered, others have flourished. It sparked the most severe global economic contraction since the Great Depression and the sharpest fall off in equity markets since 1987. The consequences of the pandemic have been highly uneven. It has both exacted a horrific human toll and transformed the way we live – the way we work, learn, access medicine, and much more. But over the past year, we experienced something even more far-reaching – a pandemic that has enveloped the entire globe and changed it permanently. I began writing these letters in the wake of the financial crisis. We have long believed that our clients, as shareholders in your company, will benefit if you can create enduring, sustainable value for all of your stakeholders. This is why I write to you each year, seeking to highlight issues that are pivotal to creating durable value – issues such as capital management, long-term strategy, purpose, and climate change.
The trust our clients place in us, and our role as the link between our clients and the companies they invest in, gives us a great responsibility to advocate on their behalf. It is their money we manage, not our own. Most of the money we manage is for retirement – for individuals and pension beneficiaries like teachers, firefighters, doctors, businesspeople, and many others. BlackRock is a fiduciary to our clients, helping them invest for long-term goals.
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