$11 Trillion in Fund Holdings Screened for 50 Largest Coal-Fired Utilities
As You Sow's Fossil Free Funds Partners with Macroclimate to Expose Hidden Investments in Coal Power Plants
OAKLAND, Calif., April 24, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Fossil Free Funds and Macroclimate® have combined forces to expand the FossilFreeFunds.org platform with brand new research, highlighting investments in 50 of the largest, most carbon-intensive coal-fired utilities. This new addition to the financial transparency platform enables investors, including large institutions, to better measure the climate risk embedded in their portfolio. The site uses up-to-date mutual fund holdings to search for investments in fossil fuel companies, and aggregates the overall carbon footprint of each fund so that they can be compared, smokestack to smokestack.
Fossil Free Funds is offered by As You Sow, a climate watchdog group focused on empowering every shareholder to align their values with their investments by shining a light on which companies each of us owns. Many experts say coal is the #1 problem in the fight against climate change. By incorporating Macroclimate's research into Fossil Free Funds' transparency platform, investors have a new lens into how their savings are being invested into companies contributing to climate catastrophe.
"Measuring how many of your hard-earned dollars are invested in coal-fired power is a critical step in understanding the climate impact and risk of your investments," said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow. "We are helping investors large and small align their investing with their values and use the power of their capital to create a clean energy future."
"Financial self-interest alone is sufficient to drive the behavior of mainstream investors," said Mark Kriss, Managing Partner at Macroclimate®. "Even with Trump, the expected financial impact of excluding coal power plants – and other fossil fuel assets – is neutral to positive for long-term investors using well-constructed portfolios."
The groups found over $196 Billion in direct stock investments by U.S. equity funds in Macroclimate® 50 companies. However, not all asset managers were equally exposed – of the 20 largest managers of equity funds, SPDR State Street Global Advisors had the most overall exposure to the list of coal-fired utilities. Of those same 20 managers, Dodge & Cox was alone in having no direct stock investments in the Macroclimate® 50.
Fossil Free Funds analyzes thousands of the most commonly held open-end and exchange-traded mutual funds found in U.S. retirement plans.
CONTACT: Taraneh Arhamsadr (510) 735-8157, [email protected]
SOURCE Fossil Free Funds
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