ISS, Glass Lewis recommend shareholders vote against BlackRock CEO's pay proposal

(Reuters) -BlackRock shareholders should vote against the proposal to ratify CEO Larry Fink's 2023 compensation at its annual meeting, proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis said in separate recommendations.

ISS said Fink's pay package totaling roughly $27 million for the year is higher than the industry's median pay for CEOs.

"While the majority of equity awards are based on clearly disclosed multi-year goals that appear reasonably rigorous, there are significant concerns regarding the process used to determine annual cash incentive awards," ISS said.

Glass Lewis said it maintains reservations surrounding the structure of the sizable retention awards granted to a handful of executive officers during the year in review.

"We believe that the disconnect between pay and performance during the year in review warrants shareholder concern," Glass Lewis said.

Fink, who co-founded BlackRock in 1988, has been under scrutiny in recent years over the company's environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies, with lawmakers in the Republican camp accusing it of over-emphasizing sustainability issues.

London-based activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners has also proposed an amendment to the world's largest asset manager's bylaws to require the chairman be an independent director. ISS and Glass Lewis recommended shareholders vote against the proposal.

Assets at BlackRock hit a record $10.5 trillion in the first quarter and the company posted a 36% jump in profit as rising global equity markets boosted its investment advisory and administration fees.

(Reporting by Manya Saini and Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Krishna Chandra Eluri)