250 asset managers reaffirm commitment to NZAM

Some 250 asset managers have signed up to the official relaunch of the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative, meaning they will publicly disclose their individual net-zero commitments and implementation approaches, and report annually on progress.

Royal London Asset Management was among the first to publicly recommit, alongside Amundi, Aegon AM, Aberdeen Investments, Impax, Sarasin & Partners, Impax, Nordea AM, Evenlode, Ninety One, Jupiter, Pictet, Premier Miton, Rathbones, Robeco, Schroders, Storebrand AM and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management. The full list of signatories can be found here.

A statement announcing the official relaunch said the “strong investor backing for NZAM signals that asset managers around the world continue to recognise and take steps to address climate-related financial risks and opportunities”.

Relaunch

The initiative was suspended in January 2025 after a number of groups – mainly large US asset managers – left citing it did not align with their internal approaches. This was amid an ESG backlash in the US which saw a number of states ban ESG investing from pension mandates.

Towards the end of last year, it was announced that NZAM would relaunch but with a a revised commitment statement for signatories where references to 2050 and the 1.5°C target would be removed in a bid to be more “globally inclusive”.

In the latest update (25 February 2026), NZAM said signatories independently set targets and develop their own strategies. The commitment statement remains “anchored in the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the global goal of achieving net-zero emissions, while also reflecting diverse jurisdictional realities and maintaining alignment with leading methodologies”.

Guidance also said it provides “greater clarity about dependencies and limitations” and signatories will report seven commitment actions, down from 10, which better defines the levers available to asset managers.

Rebecca Mikula-Wright, chair of NZAM’s steering committee, said: “Asset managers participating in NZAM send a strong signal to clients, regulators, and other key stakeholders that they are forward-looking, transparent investors, committed to managing climate-related financial risk and opportunity.”

As well as the 250 asset managers, NZAM has also received strong support from the asset owner community, including a public statement from a group of over 50 asset owners representing over $3.7trn in assets.

‘Accountability and progress’

Eric Pedersen, head of responsible investment at Nordea Asset Management, commented: “This is an important moment for asset managers to reaffirm their climate commitments. The updated NZAM framework recognises that managing climate-related financial risks is integral to serving clients’ long-term interests, and that through their product offerings, active stewardship and transparent disclosure, signatories can demonstrate how they are managing material climate risks and opportunities. This initiative remains an important mechanism for accountability and progress in our industry, and we look forward to continuing our work alongside fellow signatories to advance climate-aligned investment practices.”

Jean-Jacques Barbéris, head of institutional and corporate clients division & ESG at Amundi, added: “Joining NZAM in 2021 and signing again today underscores Amundi’s ongoing commitment to support clients manage energy‑transition risks and seize climate-related opportunities. From the start, we have been convinced that portfolio alignment, stewardship and private capital mobilisation must be pursued in the interests of our clients, savers and asset owners worldwide. By prioritising solutions that reflect clients’ sustainability preferences, and by maintaining active stewardship to support the transition to a low-carbon economy, Amundi delivers practical, consistent support as investors confront evolving economic realities.”

The announcement clarified that targets previously disclosed by signatories remain valid and have been republished unless signatories requested reviews. NZAM is working with signatories whose targets are still currently in process with the aim to complete disclosures within the next 12 months.

Mikula-Wright added: “We look forward to continuing our support for this vital platform, which enables asset managers to respond to evolving client expectations and meet their fiduciary responsibilities in a rapidly changing regulatory and market environment.”

Absent asset managers

Many of the large US asset managers that previously exited the initiative remain absent from the recommitted list of signatories, including BlackRock, Vanguard, Nuveen and JP Morgan. Baillie Gifford, which left NZAM in 2024 saying “our membership has become contested, and this risks distracting from our core responsibilities”, also has not rejoined. PA Future has contacted these groups for comment.

However, State Street Investment Management has committed its European legal entities, and Wellington Management’s European and UK entities are also signed up.

Other US-headquartered firms Neuberger Berman, T. Rowe Price and Allianz Global Investors have recommitted.

Morningstar’s director of institutional content Lindsey Stewart previously commented the new signatory list would likely be dominated by large asset managers in European and Asia Pacific jurisdictions.

“The big question is whether former signatories in the US intend to rejoin,” he said last month. “BlackRock highlighted the role of ‘legal inquiries from various public officials’ when announcing its NZAM exit decision in January 2025. Legal pressure on stewardship activities in the US has, if anything, increased in the months since then, with subsequent legal and regulatory action on shareholder resolutions and the use of proxy advisors adding to scrutiny over climate-conscious investing. So, it is unlikely the conditions exist for the return of many of the largest US asset managers to NZAM.”

For the full story: US asset managers ‘unlikely’ to return to NZAM