IPAA fights back against activist efforts

Plan to pull out of your investments in fossil fuel stocks for Earth Day? A new survey commissioned by the Independent Petroleum Association of America has found a nationwide movement to do just that has had little effect on how investment professionals view the industry.

The divestment movement is an effort by some environmental organizations to convince institutions and investors to get rid of any stocks in oil, coal and other fossil fuels. It has racked up successes, with many colleges and cities across the country pledging to divest from fossil fuels.

However, the IPAA report concluded the movement has had "virtually no impact on the way the vast majority of serious investors and analysts view and/or value firms in the energy sector, and particularly those in the oil and gas space."

The association hired research firm FTI Consulting to survey of 324 investment professionals. The firm found nearly nine out of 10 respondents said the movement hadn't influenced their views on investing in fossil fuels.

"I think we assumed going in that most serious investors wouldn't be following them, wouldn't be interested in them, and certainly aren't being influenced by them, but even we were surprised to see how lopsided the findings were," said Jeff Eshelman, senior vice president for operations and public affairs at IPAA. "Basically, this whole thing is almost entirely a media campaign, not an effort to engage real investors with real arguments." http://bit.ly/1G7ieBG

IPAA has clashed with divestment supporters in the past. The association published a report in February arguing colleges that divested in fossil fuel stocks could potentially cost them billions of dollars from their decisions. The environmental group 350.org said the study "cherry picked" data and reached the opposite conclusion of what the numbers actually showed.http://bit.ly/1Gi8syY