New York City Comptroller Mark Levine and the trustees of five public pension systems have launched a search for new asset managers that will reshape how billions of dollars in retirement savings are invested—with climate accountability as a central requirement. The decision, announced by Levine's office, opens a review of major pension mandates currently held by giants like BlackRock and State Street, whose passive indexing contracts expire at the end of 2026.
At stake are trillions in value. New York City's five pension systems hold more than $127 billion in public equity investments, with the majority invested in passive index products. For the 700,000 public workers whose retirement security depends on these funds, the shift signals that climate-related performance is no longer optional—it's a fiduciary responsibility.
Three of the city's pension systems—NYCERS, TRS, and BERS—have already committed to net-zero by 2040 implementation plans and set climate expectations for their asset managers. In their latest annual climate reports, all three systems found that most of their public-markets managers aligned with those expectations. But BlackRock, which manages tens of billions of dollars in city pension assets, was assessed as insufficiently aligned across all three systems. In November 2025, former Comptroller Brad Lander had recommended that the city re-evaluate BlackRock's mandate based on the firm's inadequate climate plans and persistent gaps in stewardship approach.
This moment matters because few American public pensions have imposed consequences on mandates this large. By contrast, several major UK and European pensions have already cut ties with BlackRock and other asset managers over climate shortcomings, establishing a growing expectation that firms cannot keep major contracts without meeting climate-risk management standards.
Ben Cushing, Director of the Sierra Club's Sustainable Finance Campaign, framed the search as an enforcement mechanism: "This search is an opportunity to put those standards into action and make clear that firms cannot keep major pension mandates without credible climate-risk management, responsible stewardship, and alignment with the pensions' long-term fiduciary obligations." He emphasized that passive index managers still make active choices through stewardship, proxy voting, and engagement with portfolio companies—responsibilities that should not be weakened or treated as optional.
The search comes after a multi-year process in which New York City's pension systems have systematically raised the bar. In April 2025, the boards set standards requiring asset managers to submit net-zero plans, warning that those failing to meet standards could lose city pension business. The new search includes index strategies based on climate or ESG factors, consistent with each system's investment guidelines.
What makes this significant is that climate change is increasingly recognized as a systemic financial risk to the economy and to the retirement security of public workers themselves. New York City's pensions have been national leaders in addressing this risk, and the search represents a critical moment to deepen that commitment. If BlackRock or any other manager wants to retain or win mandates, they must demonstrate credible, enforceable, and transparent plans to correct past failures—or lose business to firms willing to meet the standards. The outcome could set an important precedent for public pensions nationwide.