BOSTON: Even as top US asset managers BlackRock Inc and State Street Corp pressed companies on climate and diversity issues this year, they made few waves on another area of corporate governance: CEO pay. Researcher Proxy Insight estimates BlackRock supported management in advisory “Say on Pay” votes at S&P 500 companies 97 percent of the time during the proxy season ended June 30, one percentage point lower than in the previous year, based on a review of voting tallies by eight outside funds that are voted by BlackRock. Funds voted by a unit of State Street supported executive pay 94 percent of the time this year, also one percentage point lower than in the previous season, based on a similar review of early tallies. More complete filings are due in coming weeks. The continued strong support helps explain how CEO pay keeps rising, part of a broader debate over inequality, even as large corporations changed their stances on climate and social issues under pressure from investors. BlackRock for instance has already disclosed it switched sides and helped pass a measure on climate risk reporting at Exxon Mobil Corp’s annual meeting in May. Published in Daily Times, August 23rd 2017.