A net zero alliance for asset managers has resurrected itself after shelving its work last year amid a wave of US defections.
The Net Zero Asset Managers initiative now has more than 250 signatories, including Aberdeen Investments and Amundi SA, as well as the European and UK entities of T. Rowe Price Group Inc. and Wellington Management, according to a statement on Wednesday.
NZAM suspended its operations in January 2025, announcing at the time that it would conduct a review to ensure it remained “fit for purpose.” That decision coincided with a mass exodus from net zero groups, with an equivalent alliance for banks virtually being wiped off the North American map. NZAM now casts itself as a voluntary forum to support investing in line with net zero goals, while taking managers’ “individual contexts” into account.
Rebecca Mikula-Wright, chair of NZAM’s steering committee, said the alliance looks “forward to continuing our support for this vital platform, which enables asset managers to respond to evolving client expectations and meet their fiduciary responsibilities in a rapidly changing regulatory and market environment.”
Other signatories include Fidelity International, Legal & General Investment Management, Lazard Asset Management, Lombard Odier Investment Managers, Schroders and UBS Asset Management.
The new NZAM framework “reflects the evolution of climate investing from an original focus on decarbonizing portfolios, towards a broader set of approaches,” said Dan Grandage, chief sustainable investment office at Aberdeen Investments. That includes transition investing, climate solutions, adaptation and resilience, he said.
“By prioritizing solutions that reflect clients’ sustainability preferences, and by maintaining active stewardship to support the transition to a low-carbon economy, Amundi delivers practical, consistent support as investors confront evolving economic realities,” Jean-Jacques Barbéris, head of institutional and corporate clients division & ESG at Amundi, said in the NZAM statement.
NZAM was launched in late 2020, when public support for fighting climate change was growing. Since then, factors including higher inflation, energy security concerns and relentless political attacks in the US have served to cool public enthusiasm for climate action.
At its peak NZAM counted the world’s largest asset managers, with BlackRock Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc., among signatories. Both stayed away from the relaunched group. State Street Investment Management’s European entities have affirmed their commitment to NZAM, according to Wednesday’s statement.
Photograph: The T. Rowe Price Group Inc. headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, US, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. Photo credit: Al Drago/Bloomberg
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