Laurence D. Fink, BlackRock chairman and CEO, earned $25.5 million in total compensation in 2016, a dip of 1.2% from the prior year, the company's proxy statement disclosed Thursday.
The decrease becomes slightly bigger, 2%, under BlackRock's calculations, which include compensation for 2016 that was paid in 2017. The 1.2% figure, as required by the Securities and Exchange Commission, includes only compensation paid in 2016.
The 2% compensation cut aligns with the 2% drop in the firm's revenue in 2016 from the previous year.
“Relative to 2015, total revenue decreased 2%, primarily driven by lower performance fees in 2016 …,” the board of directors' compensation committee said in the proxy statementexplaining Mr. Fink's compensation.
The committee also noted that despite the revenue decline in 2016, BlackRock had flat year-over-year operating income and generated total net inflows of $202 billion for the year, representing organic growth of 4%
“Our total annual compensation structure embodies our commitment to align pay with performance,” the committee said. ”More than 90% of our executive compensation is performance based and “at risk.”
Specifically for Mr. Fink, the statement noted, 96% of his compensation is variable.
Mr. Fink received $900,000 in base salary, an $8 million cash incentive, $4.15 million in deferred equity grants and $12.45 million in long-term incentives.
