On Eve of Vanguard Shareholder Meeting, Campaigners Call on Vanguard to Do Better and Invest Sustainably
Shareholder Meeting is Rare Opportunity for Customers to Vote on Vanguard Funds, But a Missed Opportunity to Have a Meaningful Say on How Vanguard Invests Their Savings
Malvern, PA — As Vanguard prepares for a shareholder meeting tomorrow, member groups of the Vanguard S.O.S. campaign are calling on the asset manager to take seriously its influence as the world’s largest investor in coal, oil, and gas and implement more sustainable investing practices. The purpose of Vanguard’s shareholder meeting is to get permission from its customers to make two of its index funds less diversified, allowing them to more closely match non-diversified benchmarks.
Vanguard’s shareholder meeting is unusual, both as corporate shareholder meetings go and as Vanguard’s own history with shareholder meetings goes. This shareholder meeting is only for the investors of the two funds in question, and there are no other topics, including no shareholder resolutions, up for a vote. Furthermore, before this year, the last time Vanguard had had a shareholder meeting was in 2017, and before that in 2009 – but this is the second shareholder meeting it has called in 2025.
“While Vanguard convenes its shareholders to discuss technical details, it continues to ignore the single greatest long-term threat to both its investments and to our planet: climate change,” said Brett Heinz, Global Policy Coordinator of Economic and Climate Justice at American Friends Service Committee. “Vanguard’s financing of the destructive fossil fuel industry is not just bad for business; far more importantly, it’s bad for humanity.”
The Vanguard S.O.S. campaign has been active since 2021 and is calling on Vanguard, the world’s largest investor in fossil fuels, to invest for a safe and healthy future. Vanguard invests a staggering $444 billion dollars of its customers’ savings in coal, oil, and gas. Campaigners ask that Vanguard use its influence as a powerful shareholder to encourage the companies it invests in to do better on environmental issues, and exit its investments in fossil fuel companies that refuse to more meaningfully transition their businesses towards eliminating carbon pollution.
Recognizing the influential role that Vanguard plays in financially supporting the fossil fuel industry to maintain its destructive business model, people from across the United States will gather virtually for a Quaker-style meeting for worship later today. They will pray for the victims and survivors of the unnatural disasters fueled by Vanguard’s investments and for Vanguard leadership to find the courage to take action to invest sustainably.
“As Vanguard holds another shareholder meeting this year, we continue to call on the world’s second largest asset manager to use its power to hold companies in their portfolios accountable for exacerbating the climate crisis,” said Nancy Treviño, Investors Campaign Manager at Stop the Money Pipeline. “Following last week’s tragic Hurricane Melissa that affected communities across the Caribbean, it’s more urgent than ever for Vanguard to decarbonize its investment portfolio. We need billions invested in renewable energy, not planet-killing fossil fuels.”
Last week, Hurricane Melissa swept through the Caribbean, killing over 60 people. According to an analysis by Climate Central, the conditions that caused the hurricane to be as powerful as it was were made up to 700 times more likely because of human-caused climate change.
Vanguard’s own clients have demanded it take action on climate change, and even raised concerns about a breach of fiduciary duty. According to a 2021 report, Vanguard could lose at least $3 trillion by 2050 if it fails to act on the climate crisis. The world stands to lose close to 10% of total economic value by mid-century if climate change stays on the currently-anticipated trajectory, and if the Paris Agreement 2050 net-zero emissions targets are not met.
Contact: Eve Gutman, Earth Quaker Action Team & Vanguard S.O.S., eve@eqat.org
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