NZAM also received support from a group of more than 50 asset owners representing more than $3.7trn, calling on asset managers to participate in the initiative.
The Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) Initiative has officially relaunched today (25 February) with 250 asset managers from around the world backing it.
Five years after NZAM's inception, the relaunch comes in tandem with its updated commitment statement, where signatories vowed to inform and support their clients deliver on their climate goals; set near-term targets aligned with reaching net zero emissions; implement a stewardship strategy and engage with key stakeholders, and publicly disclose their plan to implement the commitments and report on them annually.
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The commitment disclosures will be available via the initiative's platform.
"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," said Rebecca Mikula-Wright, chair of NZAM's steering committee.
She noted that the initiative has helped improve market transparency and aided asset managers in meeting their clients' expectations over the last five years.
Alongside the relaunch, NZAM revealed it has received support from a group of more than 50 asset owners, representing more than $3.7trn, calling on asset managers to participate in the initiative.
Collated by the Brunel Pension Partnership, they said they remained "deeply concerned" about the rising and systemic risks posed by climate change to the global economy and portfolios.
"We call on our investment partners to ensure they are equipped for and committed to managing these risks responsibly and transparently, on our behalf," they added.
The group of asset owners included Aviva; M&G; Scottish Widows; The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society and a plethora of pension funds from around the world.
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In the last couple of years, high-profile departures from NZAM included BlackRock and Baillie Gifford after their membership become contested and the firms decided to leave to avoid distractions from their investment responsibilities
Tara Irwin, senior ESG analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the relaunch marks a pivotal moment for the climate agenda.
The revised approach, which has pivoted from prescriptive targets to providing a platform that asset managers can use to disclose their individual net zero commitments and independent approaches, is "pragmatic", she continued.
NZAM membership no longer signals as clear indicator of climate best practice but "more as a general statement of intent and vehicle for transparency", Irwin added.
Meanwhile, Lindsey Stewart, director of institutional content at Morningstar, said the big question is whether former signatories in the US intend to rejoin.
"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," he explained.
He speculated that it is unlikely the conditions exist for the return of many of the largest US asset managers to NZAM at this time.
