While Buffett believes that companies are spending the money on buybacks because they don’t see opportunities for productive capital investment, Fink points out that for long-term growth and sustainability, companies have to invest in R&D “and, critically, employee development and long-term financial well-being.” Rejecting the idea that companies or the economy can prosper solely by boosting short-term returns to shareholders, he continues: “The events of the past year have only reinforced how critical the well-being of a company’s employees is to its long-term success.”
