Netherlands-based pension fund pension fund manager PME Pensioenfonds announced a decision to end its relationship with BlackRock as a manager for its equity portfolio, following an ESG focused review of its external asset managers.
The announcement marks the second significant ESG-related mandate loss for BlackRock from a Dutch pension fund, following a decision earlier this year by pension fund PFZW to pull approximately €14 billion from the firm as part of a shift towards a more sustainability-focused investment policy.
The mandate losses highlight the tensions faced by global asset managers dealing with increasingly disparate views over the role of ESG considerations in investment decision making, with some political pressure in the U.S. leading some asset owners and funds to exclude managers with a sustainability focus and anti-ESG politicians even warning asset managers against considering sustainability factors, while European funds often require a more active sustainability focus in their mandate considerations.