Financial Times | PFZW, a major Dutch pension fund, pulled billions from BlackRock as European investors increasingly diverge from the US on sustainable investing.
Europe’s largest pension fund, PFZW, pulled $14 billion from BlackRock. This move is part of a new strategy focusing on sustainability and active investing. It highlights a growing split between European and American investors on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards.
American firms have faced pressure from US politics. This has caused them to pull back from ESG. In contrast, European funds are doubling down on these values. This divergence is causing many European funds to reconsider their partnerships with American asset managers.
PFZW said it “has always pursued its own voting policy” at annual meetings, but added that it had “become more difficult to align with American managers when it comes to voting”.
In January BlackRock withdrew from the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, an investor group focused on the green transition, shortly before Donald Trump — who has called climate change a hoax — returned to the White House.
