This Month
- Exclusive
- Superannuation
AustralianSuper ESG option invested in nuclear weapons: report
Australia’s 14 biggest superannuation funds are investing about $3.4 billion in nuclear weapons despite many promising to avoid controversial arms.
- Hannah Wootton
September
Record $12.9m greenwashing penalty puts fund managers on notice: ASIC
Federal Court fined Vanguard $12.9 million for failing to exclude certain investments against ESG criteria and instead relying on third parties.
- Hannah Wootton
August
Welcome to the nature positive investing movement
Institutional investors see natural capital as the next force in corporate governance, with big implications for companies growing and selling food.
- James Eyers
Green super: Why investors hesitate to walk the talk
Lower investment returns and concerns about greenwashing are proving strong headwinds for green super.
- Michelle Bowes
This super fund creates positive returns – and social benefits
Within its $9b fund, Qantas Super allocated $600 million for social impact investing. This year it backed an aged care project, to improve quality of care.
- James Eyers
Why the rich are decarbonising their portfolios
Wind and solar may have disappointed, but wealth managers see opportunity in areas such as waste management and disability housing.
- Joanna Mather
July
Funds hit as Trump shadow looms over green energy
Fund managers are scrambling to assess what a Republican win in November could mean for the billions of dollars earmarked for green investments.
- Joshua Peach
June
Ex-Magellan stock pickers partner with Bennelong to launch new fund
Kris Webster and Michael Poulsen each spent more than a decade at the investment firm before finally setting up their own shop last year.
- Joshua Peach
Vision Super buys up Whitehaven shares
The fund, which sells itself to customers as environmentally conscious, has watered down its climate investment promises as “green hushing” continues to rise.
- Hannah Wootton
Global investors pull $60b from ESG funds
Sustainably focused equity funds suffered major cash outflows globally in 2024 because of poor performance and scandals, the first sustained exodus.
- Patrick Temple-West and Will Schmitt
‘Ethical’ fund’s excuse for gambling, coal stakes unbelievable: judge
Active Super was found to have engaged in greenwashing, investing in companies such as Whitehaven Coal and SkyCity despite promising not to.
- Hannah Wootton
May
Top CEOs turn mute on ESG over backlash fears
Tired of drawing flak from activists on either side of the political spectrum, many CEOs have decided to bottle it up – particularly in the US.
- Updated
- Dasha Afanasieva
April
Top fundies list reveals turnaround for ESG, mid-cap investors
Climate and sustainability strategies have been serial underperformers, but data for the first three months of the year indicates a big change.
- Joshua Peach
Larry Fink, other top CEOs increase personal security
BlackRock has tripled its security spend for Larry Fink after a backlash over the company’s ESG investing stance – and it’s just one of many companies to do so.
- Louis Ashworth and Brooke Masters
March
Vanguard guilty of greenwashing in ASIC’s first major court win
The funds management giant could be on the hook for millions of dollars in damages, though the court rejected aspects of ASIC’s case.
- Hannah Wootton
December 2023
- Opinion
- Superannuation
Super performance test review must set a high returns bar
It’s reasonable to ask the question about constraining clean energy investments. But the hurdle must ultimately be whether Australians will retire with more income in retirement than would otherwise be the case.
- Blake Briggs
Mercer to pay $11.3m penalty in ASIC’s first greenwashing case
The fine, which is still subject to Federal Court approval, would be the first handed down in a greenwashing court action in the financial services industry in Australia.
- Hannah Wootton
Why this fundie is sticking with one of ASX’s most shorted stocks
Apostle portfolio manager Kylie Parkyn still owns Core Lithium despite its negative returns this season, and says there is still a lot of value to be found in the lithium space.
- Updated
- Joanne Tran
November 2023
‘No brainer’: Why this ex JB Hi-Fi CEO backed a Byron laundry
Businessman and Byron Bay local Richard Uechtritz has wrangled $12 million to open the Byron Shire’s only commercial laundry.
- Tess Bennett
Savers worried large investors are failing to act on climate
The most popular reason investors pulled out of responsible investments was due to greenwashing concerns, and fears their products were not delivering positive outcomes.
- Lucy Dean