The state’s pension investments in funds with reputations of being averse to oil and gas in New Mexico is rankling industry-aligned lawmakers, who point to the outsized footprint the sector has on the state’s economy.
Oil and gas revenue combined to provide 35% of the state’s revenue for its general funds in 2021 at $2.96 billion and 39% of general fund revenues at $3.11 billion in 2019.
BlackRock was recently included on a list of firms the state of Texas is not allowed to invest in given its activist stance on oil and gas investments.
The investment firm was one of 19 on a list compiled after Texas lawmakers passed the Oil & Gas Investment Protection Act, which disallows state funds to be invested by firms boycotting energy companies.
"We will continue to refine this process and gather additional information about how these firms may be boycotting energy companies," Hegar said. "I am particularly interested in the misguided activism surrounding proxy voting. Some of these firms may be using investments essentially owned by Texas to directly push shareholder initiatives that run contrary to the interests of our state."
Despite its heavy reliance on oil revenues, New Mexico does not have such a law in place.
The Wall Street Journal reports BackRock and the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board recently invested $700 million in a power generation company.
The investment firm boasts of its heavy involvement with New Mexico's public funds on its website.
"New Mexico’s State Investment Office manages the state’s permanent funds for the citizens of New Mexico. With $26bn of assets under management in an endowment spanning $18bn in public and $8bn in private assets, the New Mexico SIO used multiple vendors and manual processes to maintain oversight of their portfolios including risk and performance analysis," BlackRock’s website reads in a pitch for software platform Aladdin.