RFI-Climate Risk and Transition Opportunity Analytics Solutions

The Maryland State Retirement Agency is requesting information on climate risk and transition opportunity analytics solutions to license and integrate across its $73.5 billion investment portfolio, with responses due December 1, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. EST. The Agency may select one or more firms or decline all submissions; this is a new procurement with no incumbent. MBEs are encouraged to respond, though no minimum participation goal is established.

The scope encompasses comprehensive climate solutions covering physical and transition climate risks, carbon footprint and sector exposure analysis, asset-class-specific risk metrics, scenario analyses and stress testing, emerging climate technology opportunities, and systemic risk monitoring across a portfolio of more than 11,000 securities including approximately 5,000 publicly traded equities, roughly 3,000 corporate bonds, about 3,500 mortgage-backed securities, around 500 private funds, and nearly 300 government bonds, plus derivatives, foreign exchange, and cash. The Agency particularly seeks private markets coverage with emphasis on technology/software and healthcare/biotech sectors, along with forward-looking decarbonization and Paris alignment metrics. Respondents may propose subsets of services or bundled combinations from multiple solution providers.

The intended contract term is five years with fixed pricing, plus options for up to four additional one-year renewal periods at the Agency's discretion. The Agency expects implementation in calendar year 2026 and will conduct pilot or trial reviews as part of evaluation. Respondents must submit separate fee schedules with detailed pricing for the entire five-year term and optional renewals; no specific annual budget or effort level has been established.

Submissions must include a 16-part technical questionnaire addressing organizational background, multi-asset class coverage, data integrity and analytics methodology, model governance and validation, delivery mechanisms, and implementation support. The Agency encourages articulation of available data-delivery options including platforms, APIs, or Snowflake integration. Evaluation will be conducted by an Evaluation Committee with final selection by the Chief Investment Officer based on substantiveness, methodology transparency, model governance, validation, and back-testing evidence. Respondents must provide audited financial statements, codes of ethics, standard contracts, professional liability insurance, and SOC 2 Type II audit reports. All data and work product are owned by the System; contractors retain intellectual property rights to pre-existing tools and COTS software subject to royalty-free licensing to the System. Data storage and processing must occur within United States borders.