NYC Pension CIO Sees Little Impact From Wall Street ESG Pullback

Steven Meier, the chief investment officer for the New York City Retirement System, said a pullback on ESG efforts by major fund-management companies has little impact on the city’s pensions and their power to vote on shareholder measures seeking to change corporate policies.

Large asset managers like BlackRock Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc. have reduced their backing of shareholder proposals on climate and social issues. BlackRock said in a report published last week that many of the proposed resolutions have become “unduly prescriptive.”

Steven Meier, the chief investment officer for the New York City Retirement System, said a pullback on ESG efforts by major fund-management companies has little impact on the city’s power to vote on shareholder measures seeking to change corporate policies.

Source: Bloomberg

New York City pensions hold about $70 billion of US equities. Roughly 80% is passively managed ...