Socially Responsible Investing – What, How, Why?
How about a side of pornography to go with your gambling? Then maybe finish it off with a warm glass of fossil fuels accompanied by lashings of alcohol and tobacco….
Seriously though – and this is a very serious conversation…. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself: “What are the assets that sit behind my KiwiSaver Scheme?” – or – “Is my KiwiSaver provider selecting the underlying holdings they invest into in a socially responsible way?”.
You might be surprised, or even shocked to know how many KiwiSaver providers have assets in their portfolios that you may fundamentally disagree with investing into or support in any way.
At Goodlife we believe that supporting positive environmental and governance behaviour improves the quality of our relationship with our clients.
In 2005 the United Nations invited a group of the world’s largest institutional investors to develop the ‘Principles for Responsible Investment’ (PRI). This group, drawn from institutions in 12 countries, were supported by 70 experts from the investment industry and governmental organisations.
Today, PRI is a United Nations supported international network of investment signatories who collectively oversee more than US$70 trillion in funds. Its goal is to support and ensure six progressive ESG principles are put into practice by those signatories.
Goodlife partners with NZ Funds who have been a member of the group above since 2019 and is required to report to PRI annually for assessment.
How does the NZ Funds’ approach differ from Other?
A number of investment managers in New Zealand have not adopted a widespread socially responsible investing approach. Instead they have launched a small number of socially responsible investment products. We do not believe a firm should be able to promote themselves as being socially responsible when only a fraction of the funds they are responsible for are managed responsibly.
To ensure clients are invested in a socially responsible way, NZ Funds has contracted with an independent third-party firm. ISS ESG is a globally recognised expert on a wide range of sustainability and responsible investing issues, including climate change, Sustainable Development Goals-linked impact, human rights, labour standards, corruption, controversial weapons, and many more.
To read more about how we view Socially Responsible Investing please read the attached Guide.
To switch to the NZ Funds LifeCycle KiwiSaver Strategy CLICK HERE.
Invest wisely and responsibly….
Daniel Carney
Authorised Financial Adviser & Managing Director