Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

JP Morgan fund dumps “severe violator” petrol and defence stocks

JP Morgan fund dumps “severe violator” petrol and defence stocks

A £1.4 billion JP Morgan fund has dumped shares in two giant American companies in the latest sign of the pressure investors are facing over climate change.
With Extinction Rebellion bringing chaos to London and other campaigners pushing for large firms to act on the environment, stock market funds are under increasing scrutiny.

Today the JP Morgan American Investment Trust said it has sold its holdings in Marathon Petroleum and Raytheon Technologies “substantially on poor ESG (environmental, social and governance) grounds”.

Marathon a $36 billion petrol refiner, and Raytheon, a $130 billion defence giant, are both on the United Nations Global Compact “severe violators” list.

The trust said in a stock market announcement it has switched the proceeds into ConocoPhillips and Bristol Myers Squibb which have “better ESG credentials”.

The statement said: “The Board has noted with approval the increasing attention paid by the Manager to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in their research process and stock selection decisions for the Company’s portfolio.”

The fund also noted that it has sold its stake in Tesla, generally regarded as an environmentally friendly stock to fund an investment in Facebook, which is not.

JP Morgan, the world’s biggest bank led by perhaps the most powerful banker, Jamie Dimon, says sustainable investing is “a growing concern for our clients”. It has $2.3 trillion in ESG assets.

The bank did not return calls seeking comment on the investment trust that bares its name.

The fund is listed in London and has seen the shares jump 20% this year. They rose 5p to 693p today. It is run by Timothy Parton and Jonathan Simon.

A report this year by Friends of the Earth showed that UK local government pension funds alone held £10 billion in fossil fuel shares.

Those funds, typically run by large City firms such as Schroders, have seen the value of those holdings tumble during the pandemic, perhaps strengthening the case to sell oil stocks and buy green shares.

While dividends from the likes of BP and Shell have been a vital income stream to pension funds for decades, payouts have been cut as the companies try to reshape their businesses.

ESG funds run by City firms have seen huge inflows in the last year as investors large and small move to embrace green principles.

Critics of the ESG industry argue that there is a clear difference between boycotting certain investments and actively campaigning for change.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×