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Goldman T. Rowe will sell co-branded alternatives investments to wealthy clients by the end of the year
Goldman Sachs, T. Rowe Price and other asset managers, who announced their partnership this month, will offer new alternative investments to wealthy clients before the end of the calendar year. This plan follows an executive order issued by Donald Trump that broadened the access to 401(k), retirement accounts for alternative investments, such as private equity, private credit and others. This move could allow private asset managers to access about $9 trillion in 401(k), or retirement, accounts. Goldman and T. Rowe have recently signed a deal where Goldman becomes a shareholder of the asset manager. The stake could be up to $1 billion. Both companies will offer retail investors products in partnership. T. Rowe is responsible for managing $1.6 trillion of which approximately $1 trillion is related to retirement. T. Rowe CEO Rob Sharps said in an interview that the alternatives would be tailored for different types of customers at the end the year and through the first quarter. Investors like funds that have a specific retirement date. Portfolios will have a small amount invested in alternative assets, and the remainder in liquid and public investments. As the investor approaches retirement, the proportion of alternative assets may decrease. Alternative portfolios combining private credit and equity or equity funds combining private equity with stocks will be available to wealthy clients. These products will initially be available to Goldman T. Rowe and Goldman Sachs clients, but they may be made more widely available. Marc Nachmann is Goldman's director of wealth management and asset management. Analysts warned of risks like lack of transparency and liquidity after the approval of alternative investment in retirement funds. Sharps stated that "new structures can provide an element of liquidity and pricing on a daily basis to give individual investors more comfort." Managers will allocate a limited proportion of funds to alternative investments, with the goal of maximizing returns. Nachmann stated that "it's still early days. Today, investors in alternative investments are mostly large institutions such as endowments and high-net worth individuals." Sharps stated that alternative investments could reach 10% to 20% in retirement accounts over the long-term. Sharps and Goldman's President John Waldron began the initial talks for the deal a year before, talking about convergence in markets and the growth of private assets. Sharps stated that the companies have had a long-standing relationship and that substantive talks about the deal began early this summer. (Reporting and editing by Lananh Nguyen, Sharon Singleton and Lananh Nguyen)
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India's highest court-appointed panel clears Ambani's son's Wildlife Centre of wrongdoing
The Supreme Court of India announced on Monday that a wildlife rescue center run by the philanthropic branch of Mukesh Ambani’s group was cleared of accusations of animal mistreatment and illegal acquisition. This conclusion was based on findings of a committee appointed by the court. In August, India’s top court appointed an investigation team to investigate complaints by non-profit groups and wildlife organizations alleging animal abuse at Vantara. Questions were raised about how the animals had been brought to the centre. The court has ruled that the evidence does not support the claims of abuse or illegal acquisition. Vantara, a project led by Anant Ambani - the son of the billionaire - is located in the western Gujarat state. It's a major undertaking for the Reliance Foundation as well as the Ambani Family. The facility, which claims to house more than 150,000 animals of more than 2,000 different species, says its 998-acre (408 hectares), elephant welfare trust is world's largest facility for rescued eagles. The Supreme Court stated on Monday that the SIT's investigation had covered allegations relating to animal acquisition, smuggling and welfare, conservation, breeding climate suitability, financial misconduct but found no violations of wildlife rules. The SIT report and the order of the Supreme Court have shown that doubts and accusations raised against Vantara’s animal welfare mission are without basis. Vantara released a statement. Nishit Navin, Bengaluru (Reporting; Pooja Deai, editing)
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UN restricts staff at COP30 Climate Summit over Accommodation Concerns
The United Nations has asked its staff to limit their attendance at the COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil, which will take place in November. Meanwhile, government delegations continue to scramble to find hotels within their budgets. As delegations become increasingly concerned over the rising cost of accommodation, the city of Belem on the coast of the Amazon is hosting the COP30. Brazil is working on nearly doubling the number of hotel beds available, but rising prices have led some governments to call for a relocation of the COP30 conference. Brazilian officials, however, have refused. In a UNFCCC document, Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the U.N. Climate Secretariat (UNFCCC), said: "In light of the capacity limitations in Belem I would like to request that heads United Nations system, special agencies and other organizations review the number of their delegations and reduce it where possible." A Brazilian spokesperson who is in charge of the COP30 presidency has not responded to a comment request immediately. The UNFCCC didn't issue such a demand ahead of the U.N. Climate Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan last year. The annual U.N. Summit will bring together nearly every government to discuss efforts to combat climate change. The prices of accommodation in Belem have increased dramatically due to a lack of rooms. Developing countries are unable to afford them. According to the official summary of the meeting that was seen by, at a meeting between representatives of countries and U.N. officials held last month, UNFCCC requested Brazil to subvention hotel rates so that rooms would be available for $100 per night for delegates of the poorest countries in the world and for $400-$500 for all other countries. Miriam Belchior told journalists that Brazil had already incurred significant costs in hosting COP30, and couldn't provide any more subsidies. Brazil offered rooms to poorer countries at a maximum of $200 per night. This week, representatives of the U.N. and countries will meet to discuss the accommodations for COP30. Reporting by Kate Abnett. Additional reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu. Mark Potter (Editing)
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Exxon offers auto-voting as a counter to shareholder activism
Exxon Mobil has introduced a shareholder voting mechanism unique to the company. This will allow retail investors vote automatically in accordance with board recommendations at annual meetings. This could help Exxon Mobil, which is the largest oil producer in America, avoid activist campaigns. In a letter sent on Monday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stated that it wouldn't object to Exxon's plan as long as they met certain conditions. These included reminding investors who have opted in to the mechanism of their participation every year. The SEC response may encourage other companies to follow. Exxon has been fighting back against activists aggressively in recent years. It could gain more support by its large retail shareholder base, who vote for the board overwhelmingly despite their lower participation rates. Individual investors "lack the access to many services that allow institutional investors to vote quickly and easily." Exxon stated that activist groups exploited this gap in order to promote political goals and undermine shareholder value. Exxon announced in a press release that retail investors would be informed by their brokers in the coming weeks about a program where they could vote their shares according to management recommendations. Investors can manually vote according to the instructions provided in the proxy material if they change their mind. Exxon claims to be the first U.S. firm to offer this option. The company stated that it was time to "level the playing field" as a matter fairness. Exxon reported that individuals hold nearly 40% of company shares, but only a quarter vote during the proxy season. They support the board in the majority, however. Most large U.S. corporations are owned by retail investors, who hold around 30%. When companies are facing close board elections, or when campaigns for shareholder resolutions with ideological overtones are underway, they become a highly sought after pool. Apple and Tesla are the only other U.S. iconic brands that come close to Exxon in terms of retail ownership. FIGHTING BACK AGAINST THE ACTIVISTS Exxon faced several high profile activist shareholder campaigns in recent years tied to climate issues, most notably in the year 2021 when it elected three dissident board members. It continued to sue activist investors Arjuna and Follow This even after they retracted their proposal asking Exxon for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This, said in a May 2013 statement that Exxon had attacked the rights of shareholders to make proposals regarding emissions as the cause of climate changes. Exxon’s latest annual meeting, held in May, featured no shareholder resolutions qualifying for voting. This was the first time that Exxon had not allowed resolutions since 1958. Exxon's statement noted that a number top fund managers had created similar options to allow their investors to vote alongside corporate boards. However, the fund firms have also allowed users to choose other policies, such as choices that support climate and social measures. Darren Woods, Exxon's CEO, said that the company was trying to prevent activists from submitting similar proposals year after year. Woods stated, "My opinion is that if you are going to play this game, then we can too." Sheila Dang reported from Houston, and Ross Kerber from Boston. Nathan Crooks edited the story.
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Blackstone buys Pennsylvania power plant for around $1 billion
Blackstone announced on Monday that it had agreed to purchase a natural-gas plant in Western Pennsylvania, for a price of nearly $1 billion. The investment firm is betting on the rising demand for electricity in the United States to power artificial intelligence technology. The U.S. is expected to have a record-high power consumption in 2025. This will be driven by the data centers that use AI and cryptocurrency, as well as increased residential and commercial consumption. Private investment company Ardian will sell the Hill Top Energy Center to Blackstone Energy Transition Partners. The 620 megawatt natural gas power plant started operations in 2021. The Hill Top plant, according to Blackstone executives Bilal Zhu and Mark Khan, is well positioned to support this boom. It said that the deal was a follow-up to Blackstone's July announcement that it would invest more than $25 billion in Pennsylvania's digital infrastructure and energy infrastructure, to power AI. Blackstone announced earlier this year that it would purchase TXNM Energy. an $11.5 billion deal . The asset manager made a similar investment in Virginia's Potomac Energy Center in January. This is a 774 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant. (Reporting from Bengaluru by Sumit Saha; editing by Sahal Muhammad)
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Exxon offers auto-voting as a counter to shareholder activism
Exxon Mobil has introduced a new shareholder voting system that allows retail investors to vote automatically in accordance with the board's recommendations at annual meetings. This could help Exxon Mobil, which is the largest oil producer in America, avoid activist campaigns. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced in a Monday filing that it had no objections to Exxon's plan, which may encourage other companies to follow. Exxon has been fighting back against activists aggressively in recent years. It could gain more support by its large retail shareholder base, who vote for the board despite their lower participation rates. Currently, individual investors "do not have access to many services that allow institutional investors to vote quickly and easily." Exxon stated that activist groups exploited this gap in order to promote political goals, at the expense shareholder value. Exxon announced in a press release that retail investors would be informed by their brokers in the coming weeks about a program where they could vote their shares according to management recommendations. Investors can manually vote according to the instructions provided in the proxy material if they change their mind. Exxon claims to be the first U.S. firm to offer this option. The company stated that it was time to "level the playing field" as a matter fairness. Exxon reported that individuals hold nearly 40% of company shares, but only a quarter vote during the proxy season. They mostly support the board. About 30% of the largest U.S. corporations are owned by retail investors. When companies are facing close board elections, or when campaigns for shareholder resolutions with ideological overtones are underway, they become a highly sought-after group. Apple and Tesla are the only other U.S. iconic brands that come close to Exxon in terms of retail ownership. FIGHTING BACK AGAINST THE ACTIVISTS Exxon faced several high profile activist shareholder campaigns related to climate issues over the past few years. In particular, in 2021, when three dissident board members were elected. Even after Arjuna Capital and Follow This retracted their proposal asking Exxon for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the company continued to pursue its litigation. Mark van Baal, the founder of Follow This, said in a May 2013 statement that Exxon had attacked the rights of shareholders to make proposals regarding emissions as the cause of climate changes. Exxon’s recent annual meeting, held in May, featured no shareholder resolutions qualifying for approval. This was the first time since 1957 that Exxon had taken such a strident stance against resolution filers. Exxon stated that a number top fund managers had created similar options, allowing their shareholders to vote alongside corporate boards. However, the fund firms allow users to choose other policies, such as those that support climate and social measures. Darren Woods, Exxon's CEO, said that the company was trying to prevent activists from submitting similar proposals year after year. Woods stated, "My opinion is that if you are going to play this game, then we can too." Sheila Dang reported from Houston, and Ross Kerber from Boston. Nathan Crooks edited the story.
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Sources: Russian Kirishi oil refinery shuts down a key unit following a drone attack by Ukraine
Two industry sources reported on Monday that one of Russia's biggest oil refineries in the town of Kirishi (northwest) had halted an important processing unit after a Ukrainian drone attacked over the weekend. Ukraine intensified its attacks on Russia's infrastructure to damage Moscow's war effort, as the talks to end the conflict have stagnated. Russian officials have said Surgutneftegaz's Kirishinefteorgsintez plant, one of Russia's top two refineries, was among the targets attacked by Ukrainian drones last Sunday. Alexander Drozdenko is the Governor of Leningrad Region. He said that three drones had been destroyed in the Kirishi region and that a fire started by falling debris was put out. He claimed that no injuries were reported. Surgutneftegaz didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Due to the sensitive nature of the situation, two sources spoke under condition of anonymity. They said that a unit in the plant had been halted after the drones caused a fire. This unit is responsible for about 40% of the total plant processing capacity, which is around 20 million metric tonnes per year or 400,000 barrels a day. The company said that a furnace and other equipment were damaged at the facility, and maintenance could take up to a month. Sources said that the plant would boost its operations in sections still operating by up to 20 percent to compensate for the damage unit being off-line, allowing it to maintain processing volume at around 75 percent of nominal capacity. Kinef, according to industry sources processed 17.5 millions tons of oil by 2024. This amounted 6.6% of Russia’s total refining volume. The country produced 2 million tonnes of gasoline, 7 million tons diesel, 6 million tons fuel oil, and 600,000 tonnes of bitumen. (Reporting and Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Jan Harvey)
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China continues to build crude oil stocks despite processing gains: Russell
In August, China's excess crude grew to just under 1 million barrels a day (bpd), as imports and domestic production outpaced an increase in refinery processes. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, data released on Monday shows that China's refiners produced 14.94 million barrels per day in August, an increase of 7.6% compared to the same period last year. This is the second highest month of the past 17. The crude oil imports in August were 11,65 million bpd, and the domestic production rose by 2.4% compared to the same month of 2024. It now stands at 4.3 million. After subtracting the actual processing rate, this left a surplus of 1,01 million bpd, which is almost twice the 530,000 surplus from July. China does not reveal the volume of crude oil flowing in or out of its strategic and commercial stockspiles. However, an estimate can still be made by subtracting the amount processed from the total crude oil available from both imports and domestic production. The average crude oil surplus in China for the first eight month of the year was 990,000. This volume was built up mainly from March as crude imports, domestic production and refinery processing increased at a faster pace than each other. Not all this excess crude has likely been stored, as some is processed in plants that are not included in the official data. Even if you ignore the gaps in official data, there is no doubt that since March China has imported crude oil at a rate far greater than what it requires to meet its own domestic fuel needs. Why are Chinese refiners building up their inventories when it is widely expected that prices will continue to fall as OPEC+, the group of eight exporters, continues to reduce their voluntary output reductions? The answer to this question is partly that the anticipated move towards oversupply has only been recent. China's refiners were more likely to buy more crude than needed because the price trend was already moderating. Brent benchmark futures have trended downward from a peak of $82.63 per barrel in January to a low $58.50 a barrel on May 5. Since then, the price of oil has briefly spiked above $80 per barrel in June during the conflict between Israel & Iran, before stabilizing at a level around $65. More to be stored? Market participants are wondering if prices at this level can continue to encourage China’s refiners add to their inventories. During the APPEC oil-and-gas events held in Singapore last week, the future of China's stocks was a hotly debated issue. There was consensus that Chinese refiners could add more crude oil to storage. However, there were disagreements over the likelihood of this happening. China's refiners are usually concerned with price. It appears that their views are changing and they now believe that the prices should be closer to $50-$60 per barrel, rather than the current range of $60-$70. It's worth noting, however, that China continues to buy significant quantities from three countries currently subject to Western sanctions: Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. According to Kpler commodity analysts, the number of imports from Venezuela in August was 561,000 bpd, making it the highest month since 2013. Kpler has tracked imports at 755,000 bpd, and is expecting this to continue in September. Kpler reports that imports from Iran increased to 1.02 million barrels per day (bpd) in August from 737,000 in July. Kpler expects a rebound in September to 1,13 million bpd. China's crude oil stockpiling is likely to continue being a X-factor on the oil market this year given its opaque nature. It is reasonable to expect that China will continue to buy more oil than needed if prices fall amid increased supply. You like this column? Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X. These are the views of the columnist, an author for.
ADNOC reduces Murban export forecast from August 2025 through May 2026
The company stated that Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), has reduced its monthly forecast for Murban oil from August until next May in order to increase the processing at its refinery.
ADNOC's August export forecast for the light Murban grade is 1.705 millions barrels per day, according to a report published by the company on Saturday.
This is 65,000 bpd less than the previous forecast of 1.77 million.
ADNOC has also reduced the forecast from September 2025 through May 2026, by between 100,000 and 177,000 bpd. However, forecast volumes for July and June 2025 remain unchanged.
In the report, ADNOC said that the reduction was mainly due to feedstock optimization and increased Murban processing in its Ruwais facility.
Murban exports were increased by the company as a result OPEC+ production increases which pushed crude prices down.
The OPEC+ group, which includes the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies like Russia, has agreed to raise production by almost 1.4 million bpd from April to July.
(source: Reuters)