New York City Comptroller Mark Levine opened a competitive review for BlackRock Inc.'s management of the city's public equity index portfolios, a mandate covering roughly $62 billion in assets. The review encompasses investment management contracts for the city's public equity index portfolios, which total approximately $127 billion, including about $80 billion in passive index funds. The move follows a November 2025 recommendation from former Comptroller Brad Lander to rebid BlackRock's U.S. public equities index mandate due to concerns that the asset manager had weakened climate pressure on portfolio companies.

Levine Opens Procurement-Led Review Process

The Comptroller's Office will manage the search under the city's procurement rules. Levine stated that trustees will conduct a "rigorous review process" to select managers that meet performance standards, emphasizing, "We cannot keep these relationships on autopilot." The mandate was last competitively bid in 2017 and has been extended twice. The review was prompted after a Net Zero Implementation Plan review of 49 asset managers found that 46 met the city's decarbonization standards, while BlackRock, Fidelity Investments and PanAgora did not meet the pension systems' climate expectations.

Climate Standards and Oversight

Winning bidders will be required to comply with New York City pension funds' climate standards, which include emissions reporting and alignment with long-term decarbonization goals. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has indirect influence over pension governance through city oversight structures but has not publicly commented on the rebid process. BlackRock and Mamdani's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The review occurs as BlackRock faces broader investor pressure, including reported redemption requests in its $25 billion private credit fund.

BlackRock is liquidating 19 U.S.-domiciled mutual funds and ETFs to align its platform with evolving investor demand and investment objectives. The firm, which offers nearly 700 mutual funds and ETFs in the U.S., reported nearly $2 trillion of net inflows globally over the past five years. The decision follows a regular assessment of fund performance relative to client needs.

The liquidations include several BlackRock LifePath ESG Index funds and various iShares ETFs. Investors will incur management fees until the liquidations are complete. Those who sell ETFs in the secondary market will bear standard transaction and commission costs, potentially realizing capital gains or losses.

Sustainable Investment Performance

BlackRock highlighted its sustainable and transition investment strategies, which represent $1.3 trillion in client assets under management across more than 500 products. In the last three years, clients allocated approximately $185 billion in net inflows to these strategies, including around $60 billion last year.

Liquidation Schedule

The following table details the funds affected by the liquidation, including their last trading dates and final liquidation dates.