New York City Comptroller Mark Levine announced Friday that he’s opening up the bidding process for managing city pension funds, giving BlackRock another opportunity to retain its role despite previous recommendations to cut ties with the asset management giant over climate policy concerns.
Former Comptroller Brad Lander had urged the city’s major pension funds in November to sever their relationship with BlackRock and seek new bids for public equity index management services. This recommendation came as one of Lander’s final official actions before leaving office.
Lander’s decision stemmed from his belief that BlackRock had stepped back from its climate commitments, reducing pressure on companies in its investment portfolio as appointees of U.S. President Donald Trump assumed greater control over financial industry oversight.
However, Levine has shown no urgency in implementing his predecessor’s recommendations regarding the pension fund investments, which total approximately $127 billion in public equity holdings. Of this amount, $80 billion consists of passive index products. BlackRock currently oversees $62 billion of the city’s total public equity investments, while BlackRock and State Street serve as major fund managers.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who also holds sway over city pension funds and previously campaigned as a Lander supporter, has remained silent on the BlackRock situation. His office has not provided responses to inquiries about his position on the matter.
The last competitive bidding for public equity index services occurred in 2017, with pension boards extending the contracts multiple times since then. This new bidding process represents a potentially significant turning point for these assets.
When questioned about whether Levine wanted BlackRock to continue pursuing the work, a spokesperson stated: “All managers are welcome to bid on this.”
Levine emphasized in his statement: “We cannot keep these relationships on autopilot. I look forward to working with my fellow trustees to ensure we select the managers that meet our highest standards of performance.”
Neither BlackRock representatives nor State Street provided immediate responses to requests for comment.
Several Republican officials, particularly those from states with significant fossil fuel production, have pulled investments from BlackRock and similar money management firms, claiming these companies make investment choices based on social or environmental factors.
Any companies that win New York City’s pension management contracts will still need to comply with the funds’ current climate-related requirements.
