FinanceMap scores this financial institution in the following areas. Please navigate to the relevant tab for in-depth analysis
FinanceMap assesses these portfolios for this financial institution. Please navigate to the relevant tab for in-depth analysis.
Fossil fuel companies are those whose primary sector falls within coal mining and services, or up-, mid-, and downstream oil and gas sectors. Green companies are defined as companies having over 75% revenue deriving from Substantial Contribution to Mitigation activities under the EU Taxonomy.
Portion of AUM Assessed: $188B
| Holding Name | Contribution to Sector Production |
|---|---|
| AES Corp | 15.8% |
| Entergy Corp | 15.4% |
| American Electric Power Company Inc | 13.3% |
| Ameren Corp | 7.3% |
| Xcel Energy Inc | 5.6% |
| Nextera Energy Inc | 5.3% |
| DTE Energy Co | 3.3% |
| Enel SpA | 2.6% |
| CMS Energy Corp | 2.4% |
| WEC Energy Group Inc | 2.3% |
| Holding Name | Contribution to Sector Production |
|---|---|
| General Motors Co | 18.1% |
| Kia Corp | 10.5% |
| Toyota Motor Corp | 10.0% |
| Ford Motor Co | 9.6% |
| Volkswagen AG | 9.1% |
| Mercedes Benz Group AG | 6.5% |
| Honda Motor Co Ltd | 6.3% |
| Stellantis NV | 5.1% |
| Subaru Corp | 3.9% |
| Nissan Motor Co Ltd | 3.6% |
| Holding Name | Contribution to Sector Production |
|---|---|
| CONSOL Energy Inc | 37.7% |
| Warrior Met Coal Inc | 22.8% |
| Exxaro Resources Ltd | 17.5% |
| Glencore PLC | 16.9% |
| Coal India Ltd | 4.5% |
| Adaro Energy Indonesia TBK PT | 0.7% |
| Holding Name | Contribution to Sector Production |
|---|---|
| Chevron Corp | 14.9% |
| Exxon Mobil Corp | 14.7% |
| EOG Resources Inc | 9.0% |
| Conocophillips | 8.6% |
| Shell PLC | 6.4% |
| BP PLC | 4.3% |
| TotalEnergies SE | 3.9% |
| Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras | 3.6% |
| Canadian Natural Resources Ltd | 3.3% |
| Antero Resources Corp | 2.6% |
Ameriprise Financial’s stewardship assessment is based on the activities of its asset manager subsidiary Columbia Threadneedle (CTI). The asset manager has a clear framework to inform climate priorities, for example, it uses PAII’s Net Zero Investment Framework to assess the alignment of companies to a net zero pathway and rates companies in 8 categories to give an overall alignment rating. Additionally, it assigns milestones on a 4 point scale to track and monitor engagement status. The asset manager has a clearly defined escalation strategy and provides examples of escalation activities in its reporting.
CTI is actively engaging with companies on various climate-related topics, for example, it engaged with Air Liquide to gain insight on energy transition technologies and its progress towards net zero targets and Standard Chartered on how the bank managing climate risks. Its engagements have supported behavior change on climate, including enhanced sustainability disclosures and climate target setting. The asset manager has engaged on climate policy influence with Chevron and Petroleum on enhancing climate lobbying disclosures. It actively participates in various climate-related investor initiatives including CA100+ and NZAM.
The asset manager has clearly described its stewardship governance structure, roles and responsibilities in its reporting as well as processes in place to review the effectiveness of stewardship policies and activities. For example, its responsible investment policies are reviewed at least annually. CTI is fully transparent about engagements, disclosing a full list of companies engaged with and named case studies in quarterly reports. It has disclosed its proxy voting guidelines and voting data, however voting justifications are not provided.
CTI appears to use shareholder authority to engage companies on climate around AGMs. For example, it has cast dissenting votes in the election of 41 directors for the lack of climate action, including at ExxonMobil.
Insightia data suggests that Columbia Threadneedle is has mixed support of AGM resolutions InfluenceMap categorizes as in line with the Paris Agreement, supporting 28.9% in 2019 and increasing its support in recent years with 40.6% in 2020, 60% in 2021, and 40% in 2022.
FinanceMap's methodology to measure the engagement process on climate was developed in consultation with several of the world's leading asset managers and uses key aspects of the UK Financial Reporting Council's 2020 Stewardship Code . The Stewardship Code was chosen to benchmark engagement quality as it provides an ambitious framework and detailed definitions of what constitutes effective engagement. FinanceMap defines the term ‘engagement’ as referring to all investor actions undertaken to influence the management strategy of the companies they own including private communications with corporate management and appointed advisors; questions at AGMs/other company meetings; comments on the company in the media; escalation and the shareholder resolution process (filing, voting behavior). FinanceMap’s methodology breaks the engagement process down into a set of sub-activities and looks for evidence associated with these across publicly available data sources.
Climate-relevance categorization of shareholder resolutions is based on the IPCC’s Special Report on 1.5°C and its concluded need for “rapid and far-reaching transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities.” FinanceMap scored voting on any resolution where the intent and likely outcome is consistent with this IPCC stated need. The voting data is drawn from asset managers' disclosures to the US Security Exchange Commission (SEC), asset manager websites (including third-party websites they link to), directly from the asset managers, and through specialist voting data provider Insightia. The full list of resolutions assessed is available here.
The following table outlines the key queries and data sources, which FinanceMap uses to assess asset managers' corporate engagement programs. Every evidence piece is assessed on a five-point scale of -2,-1,0,1,2 or NA (not applicable)/NS (not scored). All queries, data sources, and evidence pieces are weighted against one another in a matrix system to arrive at a final top-level score. Clicking on specific cells will load the underlying evidence and information on how it has been assessed.
Ameriprise Financial appears to have had limited engagement on sustainable finance policy, with mixed positions on sustainable finance broadly.
Ameriprise Financial has recognized the risks climate change poses to the financial system but it is unclear whether it supports systemic reforms to address these risks. Columbia Threadneedle, Ameriprise Financial’s asset management arm, has supported urgent action to tackle climate change and in 2021 signed onto the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, signaling support for the goal of net zero by 2050. In its 2022 CDP Response, Ameriprise Financial appeared to support the goals of the Paris Agreement. In its 2022 Responsible Business Report, Ameriprise Financial stated that it was an “active industry participant in climate topics”, but details of its engagement on specific sustainable finance policies are unclear. In a 2018 newsletter, Columbia Threadneedle opposed the EU's sustainable finance action plan, arguing that it was "disproportionate and costly" and that policy should focus on changes at the level of the real economy. However, in a 2021 newsletter, Columbia Threadneedle appeared to support the Biden administration’s action on sustainable finance. Columbia Threadneedle’s positions on and engagement with specific policies, however, are unclear.
In a 2021 newsletter, Columbia Threadneedle stated support for regulation that strengthens corporate ESG disclosure. Ameriprise Financial’s Q1 2022 Lobbying Report shows engagement on the US Climate Risk Disclosure Act of 2021, but details of this engagement are unclear.
Columbia Threadneedle has taken mixed positions on the EU’s taxonomy. In 2019, it was reported that Columbia Threadneedle's global head of responsible investment opposed the EU taxonomy, arguing that it would "create more confusion than it will actually solve." However, a tweet by Columbia Threadneedle in January 2020 and a June 2021 Columbia Threadneedle insights paper both appeared to be broadly supportive of the taxonomy. A Q4 2021 Columbia Threadneedle Responsible Investment report appears supportive of the EU Taxonomy but a Q2 2022 report takes a more mixed position, calling the draft criteria “narrowly defined” but supporting the increased investment in sustainable technologies that would result from the policy. In its Q4 2021 report, Columbia Threadneedle appears to support the German financial supervisory authority’s efforts to establish ESG labeling rules, but an insights paper from December 2022 appears unsupportive of regulations on ESG fund labels.
Ameriprise Financial and Columbia Threadneedle have disclosed the majority of their trade association memberships but have given few details on the sustainable finance positions of these groups or any actions taken to address misalignment.
InfluenceMap’s methodology for assessing lobbying on sustainable finance policy closely follows InfluenceMap’s established methodology on climate policy engagement, which is used extensively by investors, including via the Climate Action 100+ investor engagement process. Our full methodology can be found here.
Under our assessment of sustainable finance lobbying, InfluenceMap considers engagement on all financial policies which intersect with climate and/or other sustainability issues. The analysis takes into account both the engagement of the financial institution and the activities of industry associations they hold membership of.
InfluenceMap’s methodology covers seven publicly available data sources, searching for evidence of engagement and corporate positioning since 2017. To determine the policy issues within the scope of the analysis, InfluenceMap breaks down sustainable finance policy engagement into a series of subcategories, or 'queries'. These are designed to cover high-level issues relating to the importance of sustainable finance, as well as more specific areas of sustainable finance policymaking. InfluenceMap’s research process searches for evidence of an organization's engagement with each sustainable finance policy issue, across each of the data sources.
The following table outlines the key queries and data sources, which FinanceMap uses to assess financial institutions’ sustainable finance policy engagement. Every evidence piece is assessed on a five-point scale of -2,-1,0,1,2 or NA (not applicable)/NS (not scored). All queries, data sources, and evidence pieces are weighted against one another in a matrix system to arrive at a final top-level score. Clicking on specific cells will load the underlying evidence and information on how it has been assessed.
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party.
In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Columbia Threadneedle, a subsidiary of Ameriprise Financial, is a member of ICI
not specified
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Ted Truscott is on the board of ICI, a member of the Executive Committee.
William F. "Ted" Truscott (Columbia Threadneedle CEO)
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Columbia Threadneedle, a subsidiary of Ameriprise Financial, is a member of ICI
not specified
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Ted Truscott is on the board of ICI, a member of the Executive Committee.
William F. "Ted" Truscott (Columbia Threadneedle CEO)
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Nick Ring is on the board of The Investment Association (last checked September 2023).
Nick Ring (CEO, EMEA, Columbia Threadneedle)
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Nick Ring is on the board of The Investment Association (last checked September 2023).
Nick Ring (CEO, EMEA, Columbia Threadneedle)
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Ameriprise Financial is a member of SIFMA
not specified
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Joseph E. Sweeney is on the board of SIFMA.
Joseph E. Sweeney (President of Adivce & Wealth Management, Products and Service Delivery, Ameriprise Financial)
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Ameriprise Financial is a member of SIFMA
not specified
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Joseph E. Sweeney is on the board of SIFMA.
Joseph E. Sweeney (President of Adivce & Wealth Management, Products and Service Delivery, Ameriprise Financial)
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Gumer Alvero is on the board of ACLI, serving through 2026.
Gumer Alvero (President, RiverSource Insurance and Annuities, Ameriprise Financial)
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Ameriprise Financial's 2022 CDP Response discloses membership to the ACLI. However, as of February 2023, ACLI's member list does not include Ameriprise Financial.
not specified
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
John Woerner is on the board of ACLI, serving through 2024. As of February 2023, this no longer appears to be the case.
John Woerner (President, Insurance & Annuities and Chief Strategy Officer, Ameriprise Financial)
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Gumer Alvero is on the board of ACLI, serving through 2026.
Gumer Alvero (President, RiverSource Insurance and Annuities, Ameriprise Financial)
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Ameriprise Financial's 2022 CDP Response discloses membership to the ACLI. However, as of February 2023, ACLI's member list does not include Ameriprise Financial.
not specified
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
John Woerner is on the board of ACLI, serving through 2024. As of February 2023, this no longer appears to be the case.
John Woerner (President, Insurance & Annuities and Chief Strategy Officer, Ameriprise Financial)
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
James Cracchiolo is a member of Business Roundtable. Ameriprise Financial's 2022 CDP Response also discloses membership to Business Roundtable.
James Cracchiolo (Chairman and CEO, Ameriprise Financial)
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
James Cracchiolo is a member of Business Roundtable. Ameriprise Financial's 2022 CDP Response also discloses membership to Business Roundtable.
James Cracchiolo (Chairman and CEO, Ameriprise Financial)
--no extract--
Open PDF file of Data Source
Open PDF file of Data Source