JPMorgan fund arm quits Climate Action 100+ investor group
By Simon Jessop
LONDON (Reuters) -The fund arm of major fossil fuel lender JPMorgan said on Thursday it had decided to leave an investor coalition pushing companies over their climate plans, becoming the biggest firm to quit since its launch.
JPMorgan Asset Management, which manages $3.1 trillion in assets, said it had decided not to renew its membership of the Climate Action 100+ investor group after «significant investment» in its stewardship team over the last couple of years.
«The firm has built a team of 40 dedicated sustainable investing professionals, including investment stewardship specialists who also leverage one of the largest buy side research teams in the industry,» it said in a statement.
«Given these strengths and the evolution of its own stewardship capabilities, JPMAM has determined that it will no longer participate in Climate Action 100+ engagements.»
The move is the latest pullback by U.S.-based financial firms from group initiatives that have emerged as part of the world's fight against climate change, amid legal threats from some U.S. states that membership could breach antitrust rules.
A spokesperson for CA100+ confirmed that JPMorgan Asset Management had left the voluntary group, becoming one of 14 to do so since it was launched in 2017, including BlueBay Asset Management, Loomis Sayles and Lord Abbett.
It follows the adoption last year of 'phase 2' guidelines for CA100+ members, to run until 2030, in which members were urged to «go from words to action» and hold laggard companies to account over weak climate planning.
This followed the decision by many CA100+ members to oppose shareholder resolutions calling for faster climate action at company annual general meetings in recent years.
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