Companies or funds that I invest in behave unethically

Reputations and returns are increasingly at risk

- Annette Sampson

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Evidence is mounting that poor corporate behaviour doesn’t just leave a nasty taste in your mouth. It also affects investment returns.

A study by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia found super funds that engage in responsible investment outperform other funds over one, three and five years.

The RIAA looked at 54 of the largest MySuper funds. It found 34 had some form of responsible investment guidelines and they earned 8.14%pa over the past five years compared with 7.7% for the remainder. Comparable figures over the past three years were 9.06% versus 8.65%, and over the year to June 30, 2019, 7.33% versus 7.31%.

The study found just over half of all professionally managed funds in Australia now employ some sort of responsible investment strategies and they have been beefing up their resources in this area in recent years.

The rationale is simple. The report says there is a growing acceptance that environmental, social and governance factors are an integral part of investment as they affect valuations and returns. Consumers are more interested in where their money is invested, and finance regulators are also talking about the risks in areas such as climate change.