Dutch pension fund PFZW has announced substantial changes to its external investment manager lineup by withdrawing approximately €29 billion in mandates from BlackRock and LGIM. This move comes as part of a broader shift in its investment policy towards a stronger focus on sustainability and active management.
A PFZW spokesperson stated that the fund is developing a new investment strategy where financial performance, risk, and sustainability are equally considered within a total portfolio approach. In collaboration with its pension fund manager PGGM, PFZW completed the selection process for managers to handle new listed equity and credit mandates under its Investment Policy 2030 during the first half of 2024.
While PFZW has not renewed its contract with BlackRock under this new strategy, it continues to hold investments in a BlackRock money market fund. Contracts with asset managers LGIM and AQR have also not been renewed. PFZW manages approximately €248 billion in pension assets, with BlackRock’s mandate previously valued at over €14 billion and LGIM’s at around €15 billion.
The Investment Policy 2030 focuses on three pillars: return, risk, and sustainability. PFZW’s sustainability strategy mandates investments to meet minimum standards to minimise negative impacts and targets companies contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement. It emphasises investments with measurable social value in key areas such as climate, people and health, and nature and biodiversity.
In a blog post, PGGM’s Head of Mandate Management, Sander van Stijn, highlighted a reduction in the number of companies in PFZW’s equities portfolio from 3,500 to around 800, as part of a more active approach. Sustainability improvements in the updated portfolio include a Paris Alignment score increase to 30% from 23% and a reduction in carbon intensity to 73, compared to 249 for the market index.
Van Stijn emphasised the importance of sustainability factors in asset manager selection, stating that PFZW seeks managers who are not only financially robust but also share their sustainability ambitions. He noted that not all asset managers, particularly in the United States, share the same perspective.
These changes underscore the tensions faced by global asset managers regarding ESG considerations in investment decisions. In the U.S., political pressures have led some funds to exclude managers with a sustainability focus, while European funds often require a more active sustainability approach.
In response to these challenges, BlackRock introduced a Voting Choice program and Climate and Decarbonization Stewardship Guidelines, allowing investors to vote proxies according to their policies and setting separate engagement and voting policies for climate-focused funds.
A BlackRock spokesperson acknowledged PFZW’s redemption in the first half of 2025, expressing pride in having supported PFZW’s 3 million participants in achieving their long-term investment objectives. The spokesperson added that BlackRock continues to manage over $1 trillion in sustainable and transition assets for clients, including those in the Netherlands.
PFZW’s new active equity strategy includes asset managers such as Robeco, Man Numeric, Acadian, Lazard, M&G, Schroders, UBS, and PGGM.
