Release
Australians among the most active ESG investors globally - Rainmaker Information
5 Jun 2019 12:48 PM
Australian investors currently have
$30 billion dollars invested in products that are specifically created as an ESG
(environmental, social and governance) offering, which has grown by 37% in the
12 months to December 2018. Alongside this, balanced ESG superannuation options
outperformed other balanced options in the 12 months to April 2019.
Australia currently has 141 signed
and active ESG investment providers that have products aligning with the United
Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI),
making Australia the fourth most active country for ESG investment awareness.
One quarter of Australia’s ESG
investment providers are superannuation funds and almost half of Australia’s
superannuation savings are overseen by funds and investment managers that
follow ESG investment principles.
These insights are revealed by Rainmaker Information, which publishes the superannuation
information portal SelectingSuper.com.au.
The latest analysis further indicates that ESG superannuation investment
options are among some of the better performing options across one, three, five
and ten years.
AustralianSuper’s ‘Socially Aware’ option is the best option over 10 years in
the balanced sector, HESTA’s ‘Eco-Pool’ growth option is the fourth best over
ten years and fifth best over five years in the growth sector, while WA Super’s
‘Sustainable Future’ option is the sixth best balanced option. This performance
is all relative to the three years to April 2019.
|
Best
performing ESG options |
5
year Return to April 2019 |
|
HESTA – Eco-Pool |
10.30% |
|
Australian
Ethical Retail Superannuation Fund Employer – International shares |
9.79% |
|
UniSuper –
Sustainable High Growth |
9.74% |
|
AMP
SignatureSuper – Responsible Investment Leaders international Share |
9.61% |
|
Mercer Super Trust
Corporate Super Division – Mercer Socially Responsible Shares |
7.53% |
|
Christian
Super – Ethical High Growth |
7.39% |
|
NGS Super – Socially
Responsible Diversified |
7.36% |
|
Equip
MyFuture – Sustainable Responsible Investments |
7.32% |
|
WA Super –
Sustainable Future |
7.24% |
|
Lutheran
Super – High Growth All Australian Shares Socially Responsible Investment |
7.05% |
Source: Rainmaker Information
Alex Dunnin, Executive Director of
Research at Rainmaker Information stated “these results show that investors
give up nothing when they invest according to ESG principles, though a fund
following ESG principles should never be used as an excuse for
under-performance.”
Supporting this is a 0.6% performance
gap in favour of ESG options over the year to April 2019.
|
Biggest
super funds with ESG options |
Total ESG FUM ($M) |
|
UniSuper |
3,875 |
|
AustralianSuper |
2,348 |
|
Christian
Super |
1,514 |
|
HESTA |
862 |
|
VicSuper |
465 |
Source: Rainmaker Information
“And this is the point of ESG – it’s
all about taking into account the long-term risks which must include
environmental and sustainability factors. The debate about ESG has long moved
on from having to defend investing this way. In fact, it’s now the other way
around – how can long-run investors not take these factors into account?”
Dunnin concluded that “the increase in funds
invested into ESG related products as well as an increase in the number of super
funds following these principles across their whole portfolio highlights that
following ESG principles is simply good practice. It’s no coincidence that the
Reserve Bank and the superannuation regulator have the same view on this.”
For enquiries, please contact:
Julian
Clarkstone
P. 02 8234 7514
E. [email protected]
About Rainmaker Information
Rainmaker
Information is a privately held Australian company founded in 1992. The company
has established a reputation as a leading financial services information
publishing house in Australia providing marketing intelligence, research and
consulting services on the wealth management industry and forms part of the
Rainmaker Group of companies.
About SelectingSuper
Rainmaker
Information publishes the superannuation information portal SelectingSuper.com.au SelectingSuper
brings together superannuation funds, members, employers and financial advisers
in the world’s fourth largest pension market.
SelectingSuper empowers members, employers and
financial advisers in their search for information about superannuation.
SelectingSuper also celebrates the best superannuation funds in Australia
through a rigorous research and ratings program, awarding the Rainmaker
SelectingSuper AAA Quality Assessment and recognising funds that have excelled
through the Rainmaker SelectingSuper Awards, which are held in November each
year.
About The Good Super Guide
Rainmaker
Information publishes The Good Super Guide, which has been published
annually since 2002. The guide explains the key elements and options within
superannuation and contains perspectives from leading industry experts on what
to look for when selecting and monitoring your superannuation provider.
The
guide also contains profiles of each superannuation provider across workplace,
personal, self-managed and retirement product categories as well as
highlighting products that have received a AAA Quality Assessment rating.
www.selectingsuper.com.au/contact/good_super_guide
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