16 Dec Responsible Investing
With more Kiwis being invested in KiwiSaver and balances growing, an increasing number of investors are taking an interest in how and where their money is being invested. As well as making sure they are in the right fund, many are wanting to better understand if their KiwiSaver savings are being invested responsibly.
There is more that drives investment performance than just what is reported in financial reports and day to day returns. Investments may not continue to provide the results they do if they choose to ignore environmental issues (pollution, climate change, water and other resources scarcity), social issues (local communities, employees, health and safety), corporate governance issues (prudent management, business ethics, strong boards, appropriate executive pay) or ethical issues (eg human rights and labour standards).
Responsible investment takes many forms and is a process that takes environmental, social, governance (ESG) and ethical issues into account in the investment process of research, analysis, selection and monitoring of investments.
There is a range of methods that responsible investors use to manage these factors – from excluding companies involved in controversial industries, to supporting the most sustainable companies, to a sharp focus on ESG risks, and using ownership to engage with companies.
AMP KiwiSaver Scheme funds
This diversity of approaches is of great benefit for AMP KiwiSaver Scheme investors. With funds available from a range of New Zealand’s leading fund managers (AMP Capital, ANZ, ASB, Fisher, Nikko), investors have a range of funds, and approaches to responsible investing, to choose from so you can find an option that matches your own values, concerns, risk profile and life stage.
All of the funds offered through the AMP KiwiSaver Scheme exclude direct investments in companies involved in the manufacture of cluster munitions, anti-personnel mines and nuclear explosive devices.
In addition to these exclusions, each of our underlying fund managers have their own responsible investment policies which may, for example, exclude investments in other industries like tobacco or certain companies on moral or ethical grounds.
AMP Responsible Investment Balanced Fund
We also offer our members a dedicated responsible investment fund, the AMP Responsible Investment Balanced Fund which avoids companies operating significant production or manufacturing within sectors with recognised high negative social impact. What’s more it strives to seek out funds and fund managers which are identifying companies that are leaders across industries in their responsible approach in a range of areas including environmental, social, governance, ethical and labour standards. The fund we invest in is certified by Responsible Investment Association Australasia and there is only one other KiwiSaver fund that has received this certification.