Natixis IM, the investment arm of the Natixis group and a subsidiary of French group BPCE (1), is a heavyweight in the French financial industry. With over 1,000 billion euros in assets under management (2), i.e. managed on behalf of its customers, Natixis IM states on its website that it is dedicated to “the development of sustainable finance”. But there’s a catch: its model, made up of some twenty affiliates, lacks a coherent approach to climate action. While some of its affiliates are rather good students (such as Ostrum or Mirova), others still invest unconditionally in coal (such as Loomis Sayles). Reclaim Finance calls on Natixis IM to take up its responsibilities, starting with respecting the commitment made in 2019 by the Paris financial center to move away from coal.
Natixis IM’s investments in fossil fuel expansion do not come equally from all its affiliates. Some, such as Ostrum AM and Mirova, have practices that place them among the best performers on climate issues, but not all NIM affiliates have adopted policies that secure the end of investments in fossil fuel expansion.This is particularly true of Loomis Sayles and Ossiam, who have yet to adopt a single fossil fuel policy, if only to strongly restrict their support for the coal sector.
This lack of action is reflected in their investments. Loomis Sayles alone accounts for 93% of NIM’s bond investments in major fossil fuel developers (3), making it a supporter of fossil fuel expansion. It is through these bond investments that companies find the fresh money they need to develop their business, including their fossil fuel expansion plans.
