BlackRock: The Conspiracies You Don’t Know — More Perfect Union

AI summary for those like me that prefer to read over watch videos:

• BlackRock is a massive asset management firm that manages over $10.6 trillion in assets, more than half the GDP of the United States.
• BlackRock, along with other large asset managers like Vanguard and State Street, are the subject of many online conspiracy theories about their level of control and influence over the global economy.
• Asset managers like BlackRock make money by providing index funds and passive investment products, which allow them to own small stakes in a vast number of companies.
• This "universal ownership" model gives BlackRock and other large asset managers significant voting power and influence over the companies they invest in, even though they don't directly control the day-to-day operations.
• There are concerns that this concentration of ownership and voting power allows asset managers to prioritize shareholder returns over other stakeholders like workers and consumers.
• Asset managers have significant political influence, with many former government officials and regulators joining their ranks, creating a "revolving door" between the public and private sectors.
• BlackRock and other asset managers have successfully lobbied against increased regulatory oversight, arguing that they are "passive investors" despite their outsized influence.
• The ownership structure of the financial sector is highly interconnected, with the largest asset managers owning stakes in each other, creating a self-reinforcing loop.
• While BlackRock may not "own everything," its universal ownership model gives it a significant degree of control and influence over the global economy.
• There are calls for reforms to address the concentration of power and influence held by large asset managers like BlackRock, such as increased regulation and a rebalancing of shareholder and stakeholder interests.