A Dutch pension fund is considering cutting ties with BlackRock because of the manager’s departure from the Net-Zero Asset Managers Initiative.
PME Pensioenfonds, a pension fund for the metals and technology industry which has more than 620,000 participants, said it was reconsidering the future of its 5 billion euros invested with the manager, according to a memo seen by CIO.
The pension fund is among the largest in the Netherlands, with more than 280 billion euros ($294.17 billion) in assets under management. The fund’s investments with BlackRock include money market funds and several index portfolios. PME reportedly controls the composition of, and proxy voting policy of, the investments.
The pension fund has said it seeks partners that abide by net-zero plans, and stated concern in the memo with what it called BlackRock’s diminishing ambitions and efforts to support sustainable investing.
“As a fiduciary, BlackRock is committed to helping all our clients achieve their investment objectives. This includes our many clients – in the Netherlands and around the world – who have net zero commitments for their organizations,” a spokesperson for BlackRock said.
BlackRock departed the initiative, which has sought a transition to net-zero emission portfolios by 2050 and counted 325 signatories who collectively managed $57.5 trillion in assets, earlier this month. The initiative had seen numerous members leave over the past year, including Northern Trust this month.
Similar initiatives, such as the Climate Action 100+, which BlackRock also left, and the Net Zero Banking Alliance have seen scores of departures; by the middle of January, all major U.S. banks had withdrawn from the later.
BlackRock’s departure from NZAM was significant; the firm has $11.5 billion in assets under management. NZAM suspended its activities shortly after BlackRock’s departure.
Despite a pullback from environmental, social, and governance and net-zero initiatives by U.S.-based investors, European ones appear to be continuing their commitments to these values. BlackRock, in the U.S., has been a target of political opponents of ESG and net-zero investing over the manager’s membership in initiatives like the NZAM.
“Our participation in NZAM did not impact the way we managed client portfolios. Therefore, our departure does not change the way we develop products and solutions for clients or how we manage their portfolios. Reflecting our leadership in this space, our clients have entrusted us to manage more than $1 trillion in sustainable and transition investment strategies,” an email to BlackRock clients stated.
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Tags: BlackRock, Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, PME Pensioenfonds