Solar, EVs and a big exit from coal: 2024’s good climate news
Solar capacity around the world was rolled out at a record pace, as bargain panel prices helped countries deploy cleaner energy.
While first- and second-ranked Vanguard and T. Rowe Price saw year-over-year declines in the market value of the firms’ respective publicly traded U.S. coal company investments, the aggregate market value of holdings among the top 25 institutional investors rose almost 14%.
While the number of aggregate positions decreased more than 4% year over year as of March 31 for the top 25 Form 13F-filing institutional owners of U.S. publicly traded coal companies, 
the aggregate market value of these intuitional owners’ investments rose almost 14%, according to SNL Energy data.
Between March 31, 2009, and March 31, 2014, coal stocks increased 0.21% in price, while the S&P 500 gained 134.67%, for a spread of 134.46 percentage points. After a peak on March 25, 2011, coal stock prices had tumbled 63.88% by March 31, 2014. Patriot Coal Corp. and James River Coal Co. were not included in this analysis of the SNL Coal Index because both companies have filed for bankruptcy.
Of the institutions that filed a Form 13F for the period ended March 31, Vanguard Group Inc. had the largest stock investment in U.S. publicly traded coal companies by market value, with eight positions worth almost $1.19 billion. Compared to March 31, 2013, Vanguard had the same number of positions, but the market value of its investment increased 3.25%. Looking at a five-year comparison, Vanguard had one fewer investment position than it did at the end of the first quarter of 2009, but its total investment was worth 63.99% more — a gain of more than $463.4 million.
T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. had the second-largest investment in U.S. publicly traded coal companies by market value at the end of the first quarter of 2014, with five positions valued at almost $1.16 billion. The firm decreased the number of investment positions since March 31, 2013, to five from seven, while the market value of its holdings increased by 36.88%. Compared to the end of the first quarter of 2009, T. Rowe Price had the same number of positions, but those holdings increased in market value 97.44%, or almost $570.8 million.
Vanguard maintained its first-place position by investment market value at March 31, 2013, and March 31, 2014, but was ranked fifth at March 31, 2009. Meanwhile, T. Rowe Price moved up a notch to second place from third between March 31, 2013 and March 31, 2014, unseating BlackRock Fund Advisors, which was ranked fourth with holdings valued at $871.5 million at the end of the first quarter of 2014.
The firm in the No. 1 position five years ago was BlackRock Advisors LLC, with roughly $745.1 million in market value for its six positions. BlackRock Advisors isnow ranked No. 33 with $97.5 million in 10 investment positions.
Of the 25 largest holders by market value, the institutional owner with the largest percentage increase in market value of its holdings between first quarter-end 2013 and 2014 was Manning & Napier Advisors LLC, with a gain of 1,865.81%, to $185.8 million in two positions from $9.5 million in one. Manning & Napier also had the largest rank change, moving up 203 places to 17 from 220.
