Articles by Alastair Marsh

Net-Zero Insurers’ Climate-Friendly Plans to Exit Coal Impeded by Antitrust Laws

A group of the world’s biggest insurers and reinsurers jointly pledging to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from their underwriting activities have run into an unexpected opponent of their planet-friendly mission: competition law. The Net-Zero Insurance Alliance, which counts AXA SA, …

Asset Managers, Including Allianz, to Cut Portfolio Emissions by at Least 25% by 2025

By 2025, 29 of the world’s biggest pension funds and investment firms, including Allianz SE and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, intend to have cut the emissions of their portfolio holdings by at least 25%. The targets, which cover …

Allianz’ Investment Arm Plans to Cut Holdings in Coal Businesses

Allianz Global Investors plans to curtail investments in certain coal businesses by the end of the year. The 598 billion-euro ($707 billion) investment manager said in a statement Thursday that starting in December it will no longer invest in companies …

Major UK Asset Manager Divests from Insurer AIG over Climate Policies

Legal & General Investment Management will sell holdings in four companies including U.S insurer American International Group Inc. after deeming they’re making insufficient progress on addressing climate change risks. The UK asset manager said in a statement on Tuesday it …

UN Summit to Seek Support from Insurers, Bankers to Stem Loss of Global Biodiversity

Organizers of a United Nations summit where world leaders will seek to negotiate an accord for nature akin to the Paris climate agreement want banks and fund managers to play their part in protecting the planet’s biodiversity. Ahead of the …

France’s AXA Drops German Power Giant RWE as a Client over Large Coal Operations

AXA SA, France’s biggest insurer, is dropping German energy giant RWE AG as a client in a decision that highlights how taboo the coal business has become. Not even an appeal from RWE Chief Executive Officer Rolf Martin Schmitz to …

AXA, Other Mega-Investors Seek to Avoid Portfolios with Global Warming Potential

All good money managers expect to outperform their benchmark, and by one such metric the French insurer and investor AXA SA recently scored a market-beating success. Not by delivering higher returns, but by generating a lower level of global warming. …

‘Urgent Action’ Needed to Help Stranded Sailors and Avoid Supply-Chain Risks

Fidelity International is calling for urgent action to address the humanitarian crisis and supply-chain risks caused by the more than 400,000 seafarers who are stranded aboard vessels and a similar number who remain ashore with little prospect for work or …

AXA’s Chief Risk and Investment Officer Says Biodiversity Loss Among ‘Very Top Risks’

AXA Group’s chief risk and investment officer, Alban de Mailly Nesle is required to ponder myriad dangers to the Paris-based insurer and its 830 billion-euro ($995 billion) asset management arm. He says one of the greatest and most under-appreciated threats …

Bank of England’s Carney Warns Investors to Get Serious About Climate Change

In a world facing a climate crisis, investors need to start taking account of carbon emissions and rising temperatures in their decisions, according to Bank of England Governor Mark Carney. The shift in thinking will be key to the industry’s …