WHOS MANAGING YOUR FUTURE?

The report finds that 30 major asset managers invested at least $3.5 billion in newly issued bonds from fossil fuel developers, with Vanguard and BlackRock as the top investors. It argues that existing engagement activities are insufficient, noting that only 20% of coal and oil and gas companies engaged by the CA100+ initiative have set net-zero ambitions by 2050. The analysis reveals a lack of robust sector policies, with only one manager (Ostrum) having measures to induce oil and gas companies to stop expansion plans. The report concludes that asset managers often prioritize short-term gains over the long-term interests of asset owners and recommends immediate cessation of support for coal and oil and gas expansion.

• Thirty major asset managers invested a minimum of $3.5 billion in 74 newly issued bond securities from companies actively expanding fossil fuels. Vanguard was the largest investor with $1.2 billion across 18 developers, followed by BlackRock with $851 million across 22 developers.
• As of January 2023, the 30 analyzed asset managers held $597 billion in bonds and shares of the largest fossil fuel developers, consisting of 92% equity and 8% bond holdings. BlackRock is the largest bondholder at $13.4 billion, while UBS AM is the largest European bondholder at $1.6 billion.
• Asset managers' coal and oil and gas policies are largely insufficient to stop expansion. Of the 20 managers with coal policies, only 10 restrict investments based on expansion plans, and only four (AXA IM, DWS, M&G, and Ostrum) cover the entire coal value chain. Only Ostrum has measures to induce oil and gas companies to stop expansion, though these are assessed as weak.
• Engagement through the Climate Action 100+ (CA100+) initiative has shown limited results among coal and oil and gas companies. Only 20% of engaged companies in these sectors have set a net-zero ambition by 2050, and only 14% have set 2025 GHG reduction targets covering at least 95% of Scope 1 and 2 and relevant Scope 3 emissions.
• Passive funds represent a significant 'blindspot' in climate policy; while at least 22 of the 30 managers have passive funds, only Aviva Investors applies fossil fuel exclusion criteria to more than 50% of them.
• The Adani Group case illustrates a failure to assess companies at the parent level; the 30 asset managers hold $2.5 billion in Adani entities linked to coal, with BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street Global Advisors holding $2 billion of that total.
• Most asset managers rely on vague or disclosure-based expectations rather than strategy-level demands. While 24 managers expect decarbonization targets, only Ostrum requires targets in absolute terms, including short-term goals and all emission scopes.

APA

Cuvelier, L., Cooper, R., Lentilhac, M., Guillot, N., Masson, A., Harell, C., Wilks, A., Tangpuori, A. D., Waxman, J., & Dave, M. (2023). WHOS MANAGING YOUR FUTURE? Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/AM_Report_20230628_VF.pdf

Chicago

Cuvelier, Lara, Ryan Cooper, Maude Lentilhac, Nathan Guillot, Agathe Masson, Casey Harell, Alex Wilks, et al. WHOS MANAGING YOUR FUTURE? Reclaim Finance, 2023. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/AM_Report_20230628_VF.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{cuvelier2023whos, author = {Cuvelier, Lara and Cooper, Ryan and Lentilhac, Maude and Guillot, Nathan and Masson, Agathe and Harell, Casey and Wilks, Alex and Tangpuori, Alice Delemare and Waxman, Jessye and Dave, Mahima}, title = {{WHOS MANAGING YOUR FUTURE?}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/AM_Report_20230628_VF.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }