Institutional Investor (March 25)
“Activist approaches may gain ground as investors get pragmatic about fossil fuel companies. Asset managers like Engine No. 1 argue that holding companies accountable for net-zero goals is a better route to change than divesting.” Its new ETF will target companies with “plans and products in place to handle the changing climate and the dwindling supply of natural resources. This also means that the portfolio will end up invested in some of the most polluting companies, including General Motors, Ford, Canadian Pacific Railway, and Deere.”
Tags: Accountable, Activist, Asset managers, Canadian Pacific, Changing climate, Deere, Divesting, Dwindling supply, Engine No 1, Ford, Fossil fuel, GM, Investors, Natural resources, Net zero, Portfolio
Financial Times (May 28)
ExxonMobil’s annual general meeting should be “a wake-up call for other executives with a bunker mentality.” Engine No 1, an obscure hedge fund, got shareholders to elect two directors by focusing on economics, not ethics, arguing that “Exxon has been so slow to recognize the need for a transition away from fossil fuel that its revenues will crumble, destroying investor capital.” Today’s activists “are not just trying to save the world; they are also trying to save their own portfolios in a world where regulators are enforcing green standards.”
Tags: Activists, AGM, Bunker mentality, Capital, Directors, Economics, Engine No 1, Ethics, ExxonMobil, Fossil fuel, Hedge-fund, Investor, Portfolios, Revenues, Shareholders, Transition, Wake-up
