BlackRock is to leave the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, an investor group committed to achieving net-zero portfolios by 2050 or sooner across all assets under management.
The initiative has in excess of 325 signatories representing $57.5trn in AUM.
BlackRock, which manages around $11.5trn joined the NZAM initiative in March 2021.
According to a client letter, reviewed by Reuters and other media news services, BlackRock was reported as stating that with two-thirds of its global clients committed to cutting emissions to net zero, it had made sense to join groups like the organization known as NZAMI.
"However, our memberships in some of these organizations have caused confusion regarding BlackRock’s practices and subjected us to legal inquiries from various public officials", Reuters said.
Its departure, BlackRock said, "does not change the way we develop products and solutions for clients or how we manage their portfolios." The firm said its active portfolio managers "continue to assess material climate-related risks."
A spokesperson for the Net Zero Asset Manager initiative also quoted across the media said: “We are disappointed to see any investor withdraw, but as a voluntary initiative, we respect any individual decisions signatories take,”
“Climate risk is financial risk. NZAM exists to help investors mitigate these risks and to realize the benefits of the economic transition to net zero.”
Goldman Sachs Group, Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co are the most recent leavers from NZAM.
Passive fund manager Vanguard, left the group in 2022.
