Eight more asset owners, the majority from France, have signed onto a statement aiming to push for tougher climate stewardship by asset managers.
In France, the new signatories to the Asset Owner Statement on Climate Stewardship are Caisse des Dépôts, ERAFP, Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites, Ircantec, Malakoff Humanis and Mutuelle assurance des instituteurs de France (MAIF).
Sammelstiftung Vita in Switzerland and the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund have also come on board.
At the time of publication in February, the statement had primarily been signed by UK asset owners.
Celebrating the additional support, Leanne Clements, head of responsible investment for the provider of The People’s Pension in the UK and statement lead, said it would “help to raise the collective asset owner voice as owners of capital and strengthen the asset owner-fund manager relationship”.
“Asset owners continuing to set the bar on climate expectations, especially in this challenging external landscape, is extremely critical in the lead up to 2030, for the ultimate benefit of its members.”
Earlier this year People’s Pension became one of the first asset owners to announce it was pulling money from an asset manager due to perceived misalignment over climate stewardship, with State Street Investent Management losing out to Amundi and Invesco.
At new statement signatory ERAFP, Pierre Devichi, head of responsible investment, said that voting and engagement were essential tools for directing the real economy towards decarbonation, but that “despite this clear alignment of interests, asset managers’ climate stewardship activities must be enhanced”.
“With this statement, ERAFP wants to highlight best practices and clearly set its expectations, aligned with those of many peers, to prompt asset managers to significantly bolster their action in this critical component of sustainable investing in order to effectively serve asset owners’ needs – and ultimately, those of beneficiaries.”
ERAFP and its fellow new signatories are part of a new project to help investors assess how effective their corporate engagement is.
As at 9 October, the Asset Owner Statement on Climate Stewardship now counts 35 signatories.
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