AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Dutch pension fund PFZW has ended its relationship with wealth manager BlackRock in an overhaul of its investment portfolio aimed at prioritising sustainable investments, it said on Wednesday.
The Netherlands' second-largest pension fund has selected 756 companies to invest in and has sold its stakes in over 2,600 other companies in recent months.
"For the next five years, we aim for a better balance between our need for good returns, acceptable risks and sustainability," PFZW
spokesperson Ellen Habermehl told Reuters.
The overhaul led to the selection of seven wealth managers, including Robeco, Schroders, UBS and Lazard, but not BlackRock.
BlackRock's Dutch office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While many U.S. and other multinational companies have shifted away from sustainable business models since the re-election of U.S. President Donald Trump, some of the biggest Dutch pension funds still consider sustainability is the best long-term approach.
In an interview with Dutch newspaper NRC, the fund's investment manager PGGM said its decision to end its relationship with BlackRock was due in part to its reluctance to support sustainability resolutions at shareholder meetings.
The fund wants to avoid that its own votes at these meetings conflict with those of the wealth managers it works with.
"Otherwise things get very complicated," PGGM investment expert Sander van Stijn told NRC.
PFZW has around 250 billion euros ($293 billion) in total assets, with around 50 billion euros invested in shares.
The country's largest pension fund ABP, which holds 544 billion euros in total assets, last year said it would cut investments with a large climate impact, while directing more money to companies and projects that help to improve society and the environment.
($1 = 0.8542 euros)
(Reporting by Bart Meijer; editing by Barbara Lewis)
