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Asset Allocation

Two NYC Pension Funds Divesting $4 Billion from Oil Companies

The move from the largest funds under the $239.8 billion New York City Retirement Systems follows a commitment made in 2018.
By Ellen Chang


Oil companies are quickly losing investors, including two pension funds in New York City, as more asset managers are pivoting to renewable options in the battle against climate change and for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. 

The two pension funds will divest an estimated $4 billion from fossil fuel companies. NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer on Twitter called the move “one of the largest divestments in the world.”

The move to sell holdings in oil companies mirrors the divestment from tobacco companies two decades ago. 

The $77.4 billion New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) and the $91.4 New York City Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) approved the divestments in a vote on Monday. They represent the largest pension funds within the $239.8 billion New York City Retirement Systems.

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The $7.8 billion New York City Board of Education Retirement System (BERS) is expected to vote “imminently,” according to a written statement. 

“Securities were identified based on demonstrated risk from fossil fuel reserves and business activity, and the trustees will continue to evaluate risk in their portfolios to determine additional actions as warranted,” the statement said. 

The names of the oil companies will be made public after they are sold, Stringer said.

Stringer cited the need for the city’s pension fund to focus on climate change. “Climate change is the fight of our lives—and [we] must face it head on with everything we’ve got,” he wrote in a tweet. “New York City is leading the way forward because we know the future is on the side of clean energy—not big polluters.”

The commitment for the divestment was made in 2018, when the pension funds’ trustees announced a plan calling for a five-year strategy to sell the assets. NYC was the first major city in the US to make such an announcement, Stringer said. 

“Since the initial announcement, hundreds of other institutions, governments, and entities have joined this commitment,” he said in the statement. “The city also partnered with C40 and London to engage other cities to pursue fossil fuel divestment.”

NYC’s pension funds said in September 2018 that they would double their investments in climate solutions from 1% to 2%, or about $4 billion within three years, including owning assets in renewable energy, climate infrastructure, green real estate, and other investments to “achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.” The funds said Monday that they are “on track” to reach the goal.

More than 1,300 institutions—including 12% that are pension funds, 13% that are government institutions and 15% each that are educational institutions and philanthropic foundations—that collectively manage over $14.5 trillion have made divestment commitments, according to gofossilfree.org. 

Oil companies have also stopped sponsorship of cultural programs in recent years as crude oil prices have tanked and protesters have demanded more accountability. In 2016, UK-based oil behemoth BP said it would end its 26-year relationship sponsoring the Tate’s group of art museums because of declining oil prices as the company lost $6.5 billion in 2015. BP’s sponsorship of the Tate had also led to protests at the Tate Britain.

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Home > News > Asset Management Culture > Breaking News from Davos: China’s Xi Calls for Multilateralism in Keynote Speech
Asset Management Culture

Breaking News from Davos: China’s Xi Calls for Multilateralism in Keynote Speech

Chinese leader says there is a need to balance COVID-19 responses with economic development.
By Michael Katz


In a keynote speech at the World Economic Forum, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for world leaders to band together to fight the pandemic and reopen the global economy, warning that a new cold war “will only push the world into division and even confrontation.”

In his video speech broadcast in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday, Xi outlined four major steps he said the world should take, the first of which is to increase macroeconomic policy coordination and jointly promote “strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth” for the world economy.

“For the first time in history, the economies of all regions have been hit hard at the same time, with global industrial and supply chains clogged and trade and investment down in the doldrums,” Xi said. “Macroeconomic policy support should be stepped up to bring the world economy out of the woods as early as possible.”

The second task, he said, is to abandon ideological prejudice and jointly follow a “path of peaceful coexistence, mutual benefit, and win-win cooperation.” He said people and nations should not be alarmed by the differences between them.

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“What does ring the alarm is arrogance, prejudice, and hatred,” Xi said. “It is the attempt to impose hierarchy on human civilization or to force one’s own history, culture, and social system upon others,” he said, adding that “there will be no human civilization without diversity, and such diversity will continue to exist for as long as we can imagine.”

Xi made the remarks less than a week after the departing Trump administration declared China’s treatment of its Muslim Uighur population to be genocide.

The third task, according to Xi, is to close the gap between developed and developing countries, as he noted that the economic recoveries of countries around the world are following divergent trajectories.

“The international community should keep its eyes on the long run, honor its commitment, and provide necessary support to developing countries and safeguard their legitimate development interests,” Xi said. “Equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules should be strengthened, so that all countries will benefit from the opportunities and fruits of development.”

And the fourth major task “is to come together against global challenges and jointly create a better future for humanity.” Xi said that in the era of globalization, pandemics and other public health emergencies are likely to reappear and global public health governance needs to be enhanced.

“The earth is our one and only home. To scale up efforts to address climate change and promote sustainable development bears on the future of humanity,” Xi said. “No global problem can be solved by any one country alone. There must be global action, global response, and global cooperation.”

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