Key Takeaways
- • PME Pensioenfonds, a Dutch pension manager with approximately €59 billion in assets for metal and technology sector pensioners, has ended BlackRock's role as manager of its equity portfolio following an ESG-focused review of external managers.
- • The BlackRock equity mandate is reportedly worth around €5 billion (about $5.9 billion), according to ESG Today.
- • The loss is the second significant ESG-related mandate exit from a Dutch pension fund this year, after PFZW pulled approximately €14 billion from the firm.
- • PME said the decision reflects its ESG framework, launched in 2022, and the principles of its "Portfolio of Tomorrow" equity strategy.
- • BlackRock said its EMEA business recorded around $129 billion in net new business through Q3, including roughly $30 billion from Sustainable offerings.
Summary
Netherlands-based pension manager PME Pensioenfonds has decided to end its relationship with BlackRock as manager of its equity portfolio, according to ESG Today. The decision followed an ESG-focused review of PME's external asset managers. The reported mandate is worth around €5 billion (about $5.9 billion) within PME's roughly €59 billion in assets under management for pensioners in the metal and technology sector. Other managers for PME's equity portfolio include MN and UBS Global Asset Management.
PME said the review was part of its ESG framework, launched in 2022, which underpins its "Portfolio of Tomorrow," an equity portfolio in which every company is selected "based on deliberate choices aimed at achieving solid returns and supporting a livable world." The firm evaluated BlackRock as part of its management of an ESG index portfolio. While acknowledging that "BlackRock has provided PME with high-quality services for many years," PME said it decided to end the relationship because it "considers which external managers best align with our vision and the principles of the Portfolio of Tomorrow."
The announcement is the second significant ESG-related mandate loss for BlackRock from a Dutch pension fund in 2025. Earlier this year, PFZW pulled approximately €14 billion from the firm as part of a shift toward a more sustainability-focused investment policy.
The losses illustrate the divergent expectations facing global asset managers on ESG. In the U.S., political pressure has led some asset owners and funds to exclude managers with a sustainability focus, and anti-ESG politicians have warned asset managers against considering sustainability factors. European investors often require a more active sustainability focus in their mandates. BlackRock has also been at the center of anti-ESG moves by Republican politicians, and New York City's Comptroller has called for the firm to drop its $42 billion city mandate over its climate risk management plans.
In a statement to ESG Today, a BlackRock spokesperson said the firm has been entrusted by clients in the Netherlands and globally to manage more sustainable and transition assets than any other asset manager. The spokesperson said BlackRock manages more than €350 billion for Dutch clients and is "proud of our continued growth in the country." BlackRock also reported that its EMEA business had a record year through Q3, with around $129 billion in net new business, including approximately $30 billion from its Sustainable offerings.
PME said the review was part of its ESG framework, launched in 2022, which underpins its "Portfolio of Tomorrow," an equity portfolio in which every company is selected "based on deliberate choices aimed at achieving solid returns and supporting a livable world." The firm evaluated BlackRock as part of its management of an ESG index portfolio. While acknowledging that "BlackRock has provided PME with high-quality services for many years," PME said it decided to end the relationship because it "considers which external managers best align with our vision and the principles of the Portfolio of Tomorrow."
The announcement is the second significant ESG-related mandate loss for BlackRock from a Dutch pension fund in 2025. Earlier this year, PFZW pulled approximately €14 billion from the firm as part of a shift toward a more sustainability-focused investment policy.
The losses illustrate the divergent expectations facing global asset managers on ESG. In the U.S., political pressure has led some asset owners and funds to exclude managers with a sustainability focus, and anti-ESG politicians have warned asset managers against considering sustainability factors. European investors often require a more active sustainability focus in their mandates. BlackRock has also been at the center of anti-ESG moves by Republican politicians, and New York City's Comptroller has called for the firm to drop its $42 billion city mandate over its climate risk management plans.
In a statement to ESG Today, a BlackRock spokesperson said the firm has been entrusted by clients in the Netherlands and globally to manage more sustainable and transition assets than any other asset manager. The spokesperson said BlackRock manages more than €350 billion for Dutch clients and is "proud of our continued growth in the country." BlackRock also reported that its EMEA business had a record year through Q3, with around $129 billion in net new business, including approximately $30 billion from its Sustainable offerings.
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