PGGM ditches mandates with L&G and BlackRock amid sustainability push

PGGM, the manager for PFZW – which holds around €248.5bn in assets on behalf of Dutch healthcare workers – announced a significant overhaul of its equity holdings as part of a wider push towards sustainability and active management.

Instead, the fund will now invest its listed equities with Robeco, Man Numeric, Acadian, Lazard, Schroders, M&G, UBS, and internally through PGGM, a spokesperson told Net Zero Investor.

While the BlackRock divestment has been picked up by international media, the decision to scale back from Legal & General should catch the attention of many institutional investors, with Legal & General’s Future World Fund being a popular vehicle for pension funds such as the HSBC Pension Scheme and the TfL Pension Fund, among others.

Push towards active management

A spokesperson for PGGM told Net Zero Investor: “We have appointed external managers whom we believe are best positioned to carry out PFZW’s assignment under the Investment Policy 2030: delivering market-based returns for a good pension, with an appropriate risk profile and a desired level of sustainability. We can confirm that we did not renew our contract with BlackRock and LGIM under our new investment strategy.”

However, the pension fund also clarified later that it still sees itself aligned with L&G on stewardship: "L&G remains a valued partner for us, managing a euro IG credit mandate and as partner in a joint venture with PGGM Private Real Estate" a spokesperson said. 

L&G has so far been ranked relatively well in ShareAction's 2024 Voting Matters Report, where it scores 21 out of 70 managers surveyed. In 2023, it came 17th out of 70 managers. In ShareAction's latest 2025 Point of No Return Report, which ranks the world's 76 largest asset managers on responsible investment, L&G takes the 10th spot as one of the better performing managers. 

An L&G spokesperson told Net Zero Investor: "L&G is a committed global leader in responsible investment. It is central to the way we drive long-term value creation for our clients, which is why we incorporate it into our investment decisions and stewardship activities. This includes our ongoing work with clients like PGGM, where our relationship remains as strong as ever across asset classes including in other sustainable investment strategies.”

Concerns over stewardship alignment

Another casualty of this investment overhaul has been US manager BlackRock, with PGGM making the decision to terminate its €14.5bn mandate.

This decision was in large part motivated by growing concerns over stewardship alignment, according to Sander van Stijn, head of mandate management and manager selection at PGGM, speaking to Dutch daily NRC.

While PGGM had already made use of BlackRock’s Voting Choice programme, it became increasingly concerned about the fact that its voting preferences did not align with those of its manager, he told NRC.

A spokesperson for BlackRock confirmed the news to Net Zero Investor, adding that it had noted the redemption in the first half of 2025. The manager said it continues to manage over $1trn in sustainable investing and transition assets, including for Dutch clients. “PFZW have always voted their portfolio with BlackRock themselves. For eligible clients who wish to participate in the stewardship of their assets, we have built the industry’s largest Voting Choice programme, as well as a Climate and Decarbonisation Stewardship programme for those clients who choose to prioritise those investment outcomes,” the manager said.

The pension fund continues to invest with BlackRock for its money market funds.

A growing trend

PFZW’s divestment comes amid a growing trend of climate-conscious asset owners stepping away from larger US managers in a bid to ensure greater stewardship alignment.

At the beginning of this year, Net Zero Investor reported that the People’s Pension had moved £28bn out of State Street, citing concerns over the manager’s stance on climate. Danish pension fund Akademiker Pension also opted to terminate a DKK3.2bn mandate with State Street.

Growing interest in stewardship alignment could offer new opportunities for climate-conscious managers. In a recent analyst note, US firm JP Morgan Asset Management estimated that between €11trn and €17trn in assets is currently held by institutional asset owners with commitments to net-zero targets, and predicted that managers with greater credibility on climate could soon capitalise on growing demand.

This article has been updated on 5.9. to include a clarification from PGGM that the termination of the L&G mandate was part of the wider investment overhaul and not motivated by concerns over stewardship alignment.

More on this:

JP Morgan sees $11.7trn climate opportunity for European asset managers

Campaigners target Aviva and LGIM over Shell and BP AGM votes

The People's Pension moves $28bn out of State Street citing stewardship alignment