The relaunch of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM) kicked off in January with activites expected to resume later this month. Lindsey Stewart, director of institutional content at Morningstar, has provided the following insight on what we can expect from the group’s new chapter.
“Climate-conscious investors will eagerly anticipate the relaunch of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative following its year-long hiatus. The revised goals of the initiative are likely to look considerably different from its original objectives, with the initiative seeking to accommodate “diverse regional realities,” which can be understood to include legal and regulatory pressure on signatories in the US.
Specific net-zero targets for 2050 are reported to have been removed.The big question is whether former signatories in the US intend to rejoin. BlackRock highlighted the role of “legal inquiries from various public officials” when announcing its NZAM exit decision in January 2025. Legal pressure on stewardship activities in the US has, if anything, increased in the months since then, with subsequent legal and regulatory action on shareholder resolutions and the use of proxy advisors adding to scrutiny over climate-conscious investing. So, its unlikely the conditions exist for the return of many of the largest US asset managers to NZAM.
We’re likely to see a new signatory list dominated by large asset managers in European and Asia-Pacific jurisdictions, encouraged by climate conscious asset owners with a longer investment horizon to maintain their climate ambitions amid current challenges.”
