MALVERN, PA — Climate activists and socially responsible investing advocates gathered outside Vanguard’s Malvern campus on Thursday, using music, speeches, and demonstrations to criticize the investment firm’s holdings in fossil fuel and petrochemical companies.
About 30 demonstrators assembled near the asset manager’s Brennan Boulevard entrance during Vanguard’s annual Partnership Day employee celebration, according to organizers from the Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT) and the Vanguard S.O.S. campaign.
The protest is part of a broader campaign urging Vanguard to alter its investment approach and increase consideration of environmental and social impacts within its portfolio decisions.
Organizers said participants used drums, brass instruments, signs, and banners to draw attention to what they described as the environmental and human rights consequences of certain corporate investments held by Vanguard-managed funds.
“We know that investing in fossil fuels means investing in pain and destruction the world over,” EQAT Board Co-Clerk Anna Schall said during the demonstration. She argued that long-term investors face risks as economies transition toward cleaner energy sources.
Lina Blount, EQAT’s director of organizing, strategy and partnerships, said some investors have moved assets away from Vanguard in response to the firm’s approach to climate-related issues.
According to protest organizers, the Vanguard S.O.S. campaign has assisted investors in transferring more than $60 million from Vanguard-managed accounts as part of its advocacy efforts.
The demonstration also highlighted research released in March by environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth, which concluded that Vanguard is a major investor in companies involved in dozens of planned petrochemical expansion projects in the United States. Organizers cited the report as evidence supporting their concerns about the environmental impact of the firm’s investments.
Vanguard, one of the world’s largest asset managers, oversees trillions of dollars in assets on behalf of individual and institutional investors. The company has previously maintained that it offers investment options designed to meet a range of client objectives and risk preferences.
Thursday’s protest lasted approximately one hour and took place while employees arrived and departed from the company’s annual event. Organizers said local police and Vanguard security personnel were present during the demonstration.
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