The struggle between BlackRock and Saba Capital, the world leader of closed-end fund activism, has just intensified.

Saba Capital is trying to appoint its directors at several BlackRock closed-end funds, which trade at large discounts to net asset values (by that Saba means merely 11.8% discount).

Institutional Investor Services (ISS) recommends shareholders to vote in favor of Saba’s director nominees.

ISS is the largest “proxy advisor” in the world with market share of 48%. It provides independent research and voting recommendations to large institutional investors (which, interestingly, includes BlackRock).

According to CNBC:

[ISS] pointed to severe underperformance and shareholder disenfranchisement at those two [BlackRock] funds as two of the reasons why it was recommending a board refreshment.

We applaud ISS for upholding the highest standard of corporate governance.

贝莱德(BlackRock)与封闭式基金维权主义(activism)的全球领导者Saba Capital的斗争愈演愈烈。Saba Capital正试图任命四只贝莱德封闭式基金的董事，而这些基金的股價远低于净资产价值 (Saba Capital說的是11.8%折扣)。

Institutional Investor Services (ISS) 建议股东投票支持Saba Capital的董事提名人。

ISS是全球最大的”投票代理顾问”（proxy advisor），占该业务市场份额为48%。它备受全球大型的机构投资者们信任，为他们提供独立研究和投票建议 （包括贝莱德）。

据 CNBC 报道：

[ISS] 指出，这两只基金业绩严重不佳以及股东权利被剥夺是其建议董事会改组的两个原因。

我们高度赞赏 ISS 对最高水平企业管治的坚持。

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ISS backs Boaz Weinstein’s nominees at four BlackRock funds

Published on CNBC on 13 June 2024

2024 年 6 月 13 日在 CNBC 上发布

Dissident Boaz Weinstein’s Saba Capital picked up support in its campaign for change at some BlackRock closed-end funds from proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services.

Saba has mounted a campaign to elect its own director nominees to the boards of 10 BlackRock closed-end funds, accusing the investing giant of mismanagement as the funds trade at a discount to their net asset value, or NAV.

ISS, in reports viewed by CNBC, said shareholders should back some of Saba’s board nominees at two of those funds: BlackRock Innovation and Growth Term Trust as well as BlackRock ESG Capital Allocation Term Trust. The proxy advisor pointed to severe underperformance and shareholder disenfranchisement at those two funds as two of the reasons why it was recommending a board refreshment.

Those two funds mark Saba’s largest positions within the 10 campaigns. ISS also pointed to Saba’s management of its Capital Income and Opportunities Fund, saying Saba’s track record as a manager showed it could narrow undervaluation and was not as concerning as BlackRock had suggested it was.

ISS recommended that BIGZ shareholders vote for Saba nominees Ilya Gurevich, Shavar Jeffries, David Locala and Athanassios Diplas, while ECAT shareholders should support Gurevich and Diplas.

“We are grateful to have received support from a leading proxy advisory firm against worst-of-all-worlds governance at BlackRock funds, which have destroyed value for millions of investors,” Saba partner Paul Kazarian said in a statement.

The latest endorsement comes after ISS earlier this week issued mixed levels of support for Saba’s campaigns at four other BlackRock funds. At two of the funds Saba is targeting, BSTZ and BFZ, the proxy advisor endorsed the activist’s entire slate.

The proxy advisor also came out against Saba’s efforts at several of the targeted funds to terminate BlackRock as the investment advisor and issued endorsements for several of the incumbent or management board nominees at other funds, including the re-election of the full slate of directors at BCAT, BNY, BMEZ and MPA.

In a release, BlackRock said it disagreed with ISS’ latest findings and pointed to prior full endorsements from Glass Lewis.

R. Glenn Hubbard, who chairs Blackrock’s closed end funds, while conceding ISS’ endorsement of some of Saba’s nominees, said the firm continued “to believe that our nominees have demonstrated time and time again that they are the right stewards to represent all shareholders.”