Altshuler Shaham, an investment house that once had a green reputation and pledged two years ago to halt new investments in fossil fuels, poured billions of shekels into what many regard as the four oil companies with the worst records on climate, a new ranking published on Wednesday shows.
According to the Clean Money Forum’s ranking, Altshuler Shaham invested just over NIS 10 billion ($2.7 billion), which amounts to 22.42% of the pension, provident and insurance funds it manages on behalf of the public, into fossil fuels. Over several financial quarters, the company was ranked at the top of the grading system but dropped to 7th out of 10 during the last quarter of 2022 and to 9th place during the first quarter of 2023.
In total, the 10 companies whose fossil fuel investments are analyzed every quarter had NIS 61.5 billion ($16.7 billion) of the public’s cash invested in coal, oil, and gas concerns during the first quarter of this year, up from NIS 57.5 billion in the last quarter of 2022.
Yelin Lapidot, which has slowly climbed up the rankings but still has no policy, came top for the first quarter of the year, investing NIS 1.77 billion ($480 million), or 11.46% of the public’s money it manages, in fossil fuel companies. This company was followed by Meitav, Menorah, Harel, Clal, Migdal, Phoenix, and Analyst.
For international comparison, companies in the S&P 500 index invested an average of 9.34% of the public’s pension funds in fossil fuels during Q1 2023, with a 9.5% average for MSCI ACWI companies.
Out of the NIS 10.1 billion (22.4%) of the public’s money that Altshuler Shaham invested in fossil fuel companies during Q1 2023, NIS 5.76 billion ($1.56 billion) was directed to five of the biggest oil companies, according to the forum. This was up from just under NIS 5 billion ($1.4 billion) during Q4 of 2022. The sum included investments of NIS 1.4 billion ($380 million) into Exxon Mobil, NIS 1.38 billion ($375 million) into Chevron, NIS 1.26 billion ($342.4 million) into Total, NIS 863 million ($234.5 million) into BP, and NIS 859 million ($233.5 million) into Shell. All but Total were named last year in a study that found huge gaps between pledges and action on climate change.
In a statement, Altshuler Shaham said the company “attaches great importance to environmental, social, and corporate governance considerations in the management of its investments” and claimed that investing in corporations that have set “clear goals” for reducing polluting emissions and promoting the transition to renewable energies “may be useful in promoting the long-awaited change.”
The Clean Money Forum also noted that Migdal has made new investments in fossil companies, contrary to a written commitment on its website. Migdal responded by saying that its main consideration is to bring returns to the public’s savings and protect its money, and that it is a major investor in renewable energy. The forum ranks the country’s 10 largest financial institutions based on their investments in fossil fuel companies in Israel and overseas.
