JULY 1st, 2023 | RYAN TYLER

How To Beat Blackrock And Vanguard

Two investment firms control stakes in almost every major corporation in North America.

Vanguard and Blackrock are two massive investment firms that control up to 20% of every major American corporation, collectively, through their ownership of shares. They even have ownership in several Canadian corporations. If you're aware of ESG scores and the seemingly homogeneous wokeness among every major company, these two firms are responsible for most of it. Blackrock's CEO recently admitted that firms like his are “forcing behaviours” on gender and race. Furthermore, they often outsource their voting to activists. Through the voting process, as well as by threatening to dump shares and block loans and credit, these two firms have the power to influence and control the direction of some of America's biggest corporations. To stop them, more people need to start investing.

Investing has never been easier than it is now. Before the internet, buying and selling stocks was a process that required a large down payment and a budget for brokerage fees and commissions. Just a decade ago, ordinary people needed a minimum of $1000 to start a trading account online. Today, that amount is $1.

Through online platforms like Robinhood and Wealthsimple, anyone can start investing. Trading stocks and participating in markets is not only fun, it's almost exactly like democracy. Sadly, although more people are doing it, a majority remain scared. They're scared because they don't understand it.

Investing isn't difficult once you learn the basics.

To start, you don't need to know much about resistance and support levels, you can simply buy stocks in some of your favourite companies and brands. Learning resistance and support will only make your decisions more precise and your profits more consistent. But, you can do that later. For now, all you need is $100 and a cash trading account (not a margin account). All you have to do is hold the stocks. 

Taking power back from big investment firms and asset managers requires everyone's participation. If you think your one vote won't count, you're right, but if everyone had that mindset, our enemies would win—which they often do. Just like the democratic process, the stock market requires participation. Big firms, like Vanguard, prefer you continue abstaining and cowering in fear. They don't want you to participate, which is why they don't invest in educating people about the stock market. It's probably why investing still isn't taught in schools.

As a shareholder in some of your favourite companies, you will have a vote. That vote will compete against the big whales and investment firms that steer corporations toward idiotic political positions and unprofitable wokeness. You can fight the system by becoming a shareholder. If you're smart and lucky, you can make a lot of money doing it.

Right now, without needing to know much, take $100 and start a cash account with Wealthsimple or a similar platform. Upload your ID and answer the questions to verify your account. Then pick a handful of companies and buy one stock from each. Do this on a monthly basis and start watching tutorials and videos about stock trading and markets.

That's it. It's that simple.

You've now put yourself into the game. You've started the process. You are now chipping away at the power and control of big investment firms that steer our culture and economy down immoral pathways. If everyone did this, companies like Blackrock would begin losing their control.

The Whales (Our Competitors)

In Canada, the big banks buy shares in Canadian corporations. Along with some major investment firms, they are our biggest competitors. For example, RBC owns a 10% stake in Telus. The other big banks, and also Vanguard, own an average of 2% respectively. Together, Canada's big banks own more than 20% of Telus. That number is big enough to influence the company's policies and goals.

We have seen what can happen when we vote with our dollars. Anheuser-Busch InBev and Target have lost billions for their support of child groomers and anti-woman campaigns. That's without most Americans even owning any shares in those companies. Imagine how badly they would have suffered if millions of Americans not only boycotted their products, but dumped their shares. This happened naturally as a result of the boycotts, but the results would have been more catastrophic if ordinary Americans owned a few shares and then sold off those stocks en masse.

If you want a stake in Canadian media, think of Corus Entertainment. The Shaw family has an 80% stake in ownership, but the door is open for the rest of us. Right now, that stock is dirt cheap.

Tired of seeing drag shows at Boston Pizza? Their stock is only $16. Buy wads of it, then sell it when word of their latest "family friendly" drag show reaches you. Or, join the next vote and shareholder-led coup.

Vanguard and Blackrock are two institutional owners of Canadian Tire. That stock pays some of the biggest dividends in Canada, but isn't cheap for any ordinary Canadian to buy in big wads. The price is declining, but CTC.A is still over $150 CAD per share. Vanguard is also a top institutional holder of BMO shares, RBC, CIBC, Scotia and TD shares. Those banks are top institutional holders for almost every major Canadian corporation.

Do you see how that works?

When we begin owning shares in these companies, our boycott efforts will be magnified when we not only stop being patrons, but when we dump all of their stocks. Mass selloffs are what cause most market bloodbaths. 

Things Are Changing

Asset management companies and firms, themselves, have stakeholders. Some will argue that Vanguard and Blackrock are merely doing what their investors and clients want, which is to earn money and invest in the most profitable ventures. That is the overall agenda, yes. However, their majority shareholders also happen to be powerful billionaires and other powerful investment firms. Sometimes these people turn out to be activists with a hero complex. Through firms like Blackrock and Vanguard, powerful families and billionaires can control cultures and economies around the world—which they have been doing.

Wokeness and environmental issues may become focal points for these companies because they are viewed as favourable and profitable among younger generations. As we've started to see, people are pushing back against that idea and proving it wrong. A few years ago, being woke may have been considered virtuous and profitable in the long term, but tides are turning.

As wokeness proves to be fatal, fewer companies will push for it, no matter what those few activist billionaires want.

By investing and becoming shareholders, more Canadians and Americans can take control. As wokeness faces defeat on the battlefield, companies like Vanguard and Blackrock will start to change course. In fact, they already have.

Media and environmental groups have complained that both Vanguard and Blackrock have been players in blocking key ESG votes at shareholder meetings. As of May 2023, most of it has been resistance to the E in ESG, which stands for the environment, but as wokeness and social justice continue to fall out of favour and become detrimental, it's likely that Blackrock and Vanguard investors will start pushing back against the S.

Because environmental causes have proven to be just as damaging to profits, major investors and corporations have turned against oppressive environmental regimes and laws. The world's dependence on fossil fuels won't change quickly and most investors realize the need for fossil fuels in transporting goods at reasonable costs. When transport costs rise, so does everything else. A rapid transition to renewable resources would only hurt profits.

As wokeness hurts profits, a majority of investors will start pushing back against the activist whales.