SLOW BURN: The asset managers betting against the planet

The report finds a significant gap between the long-term net-zero commitments of major asset managers and their actual investment practices, particularly regarding coal. Most analyzed managers lack robust coal exclusion policies, and 'passive' index investments—which represent nearly half of the assets under management in the sample—are largely exempt from climate criteria, leaving them highly exposed to the coal sector.

• A majority of the 29 surveyed asset managers lack a public policy to phase out coal, including major firms such as Vanguard, PIMCO, and Schroders. Even among those with policies, only 25% of all assets managed in the sample are covered by a coal exclusion criterion.
• Coal exclusion criteria are generally weak; only 20% of the asset managers exclude companies with active coal expansion plans. Consequently, only €3.4 trillion of the €23 trillion in assets covered by long-term climate commitments actually exclude companies with coal expansion plans.
• Passive index investing represents a major loophole for climate risk, accounting for approximately 48% of the €34 trillion in assets under management in the sample. Less than 3% of the €13 trillion in passively managed assets from the industry giants analyzed are covered by coal exclusion criteria.
• While half of the asset managers recommend that investee companies align with Paris Agreement objectives, none do so using systematic time-bound requests or sanctions for lack of progress. Only Aviva Investors and Aberdeen SI have specified conditions for such sanctions.
• The report identifies a lack of systematic application of coal exclusions to investment mandates, which make up 55% of the total investments managed by the sample. Most exclusions apply to pooled funds rather than dedicated mandates.

APA

Cuvelier, L. (2021). SLOW BURN: The asset managers betting against the planet. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Slow_Burn_RF_FINAL_ENG.pdf

Chicago

Cuvelier, Lara. SLOW BURN: The asset managers betting against the planet. Reclaim Finance, 2021. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Slow_Burn_RF_FINAL_ENG.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cuvelier |first1=Lara |title=SLOW BURN: The asset managers betting against the planet |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=April 2021 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Slow_Burn_RF_FINAL_ENG.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cuvelier2021slow, author = {Cuvelier, Lara}, title = {{SLOW BURN: The asset managers betting against the planet}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Slow_Burn_RF_FINAL_ENG.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }