JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) and Australia’s QBE Insurance Group have become the latest institutional investors to exit net zero finance initiatives.

JP Morgan Asset Management announced its departure from the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative on Friday, saying it was ending its membership because of the initiative suspending its operations.

“NZAMi in January announced that it has paused its operations in the midst of developments in the regulatory environment and client expectations,” a spokesperson said.

“In light of that, JPMAM has decided to exit.”

JPMAM had already left Climate Action 100+, the collaborative engagement group, last year and its parent, JP Morgan Chase, officially left the Net Zero Banking Alliance in January this year.

Australia, too

Meanwhile, on Friday in Australia insurer QBE said it had resigned from the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA).

“We are incorporating our approach to our ‘net zero investments by 2050’ commitment into our broader climate transition plan, which will be released in 2026,” QBE said.

It also said it had achieved its 2025 investment targets, which would be included in the next NZAOA progress report.

“Our departure does not diminish our focus on sustainability, nor impact our commitment to transition our investment portfolio to net-zero emissions by 2050,” it added.

QBE joined the UN-backed NZAOA in 2020, the first Australian-headquartered insurance business to do so. Earlier this year its compatriot Macquarie, a banking group, left the UN-backed Net-Zero Banking Group.

The NZAOA does not comment on individual members. Denmark’s PKA and Dutch pension fund Detailhandel have both left the group in the past six months, with each citing maximising resources as a reason.

The re-election of Donald Trump as US president has turbocharged the political campaign against sustainability and sustainable investment in the US. Across the Atlantic, there are signs that asset owners will penalise asset managers who retreat from collaborative climate groups, with SSGA having lost business from the People’s Pension in the UK and AkademikerPension in Denmark.

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Susanna is deputy news editor at IPE. At IPE she covers responsible investment and EU regulation, but also enjoys reporting on developments in and around the UK pensions industry. Having been a financial journalist since 2008, Susanna started her career as a corporate governance/corporate social responsibility analyst at proxy advisory firm PIRC.View full Profile

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