How BlackRock Made ESG the Hottest Ticket on Wall Street (1)

Almost two years have passed since Larry Fink, the chief executive officer of BlackRock Inc., declared that a fundamental reshaping of global capitalism was underway and that his firm would help lead it by making it easier to invest in companies with favorable environmental and social practices. Lately, he’s been taking a victory lap.

“Our flows continue to grow and dominate,” Fink said Oct. 13 of so-called ESG, or environmental, social and governance funds, and similar investments. On the same conference call with analysts, he added: “BlackRock is a leader in this, and we are seeing the flows, ...