ESG

The Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) will host the largest edition of its New Zealand conference yet, on 8 August at the Aotea Centre in Auckland, with over 350 leaders and practitioners from the sustainable finance industry due to attend. The RIAA Conference Aotearoa NZ 2023 comes at a critical time in the fast-evolving field of responsible investment, as investment managers face heightened expectations from government, regulators and retail investors.

Betashares is an Australasian fund manager specialising in innovative and robust investment funds, covering almost every asset class and investment strategy. Since launching its first fund in 2010, the Betashares Group has grown to become one of the region’s fastest growing fund managers with locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland.

“Early engagement and focusing on a key list of issues rather than a generic list of asks, will help ensure engagement is effective,” said Mark Rigotti, CEO of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

After serving as CEO of the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) for over 10 years, Simon O’Connor has informed the RIAA board of his decision to transition out of the role, with his departure scheduled for the end of this year. Ross Piper, Chair of the RIAA board expressed his appreciation for Simon’s remarkable contribution and acknowledged the timing is right for both the organisation and Simon personally to begin a leadership transition.

In recent years, momentum has been building around channeling capital into sustainable projects and economic activities to help the economy and societies become more resilient to climate-related risks. A sustainable finance taxonomy, if done right, will help achieve this, by articulating a set of principles and criteria used to classify sustainable activities and projects. By extension, investment in or funding provided for these activities and projects can thus be classified within ‘sustainable finance’.

This first in a new series of RIAA member exclusive briefings provided a detailed update on our major focus areas and information about all the exciting things happening within RIAA.

Investors want to do well and do good In the face of financial market turbulence, consumer demand for ethical investing not only remains resilient but continues to gain momentum. Consumers not only want to avoid investing in companies that cause harm, they are increasingly also looking to invest in KiwiSaver and investment funds that do good. This is the fifth annual survey of the New Zealand public undertaken by Mindful Money and the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA). The survey, conducted by market researcher, Dynata, provides valuable research, trends and insights for the finance sector and public audiences. Read full press release for key findings of the survey.

Stewardship, or active ownership, is being embraced by more and more investors as a means to deliver long-term returns while contributing to a more sustainable future. RI Australia 2023 explored current trends in stewardship, examined cases of best practice and explored whether stewardship really can deliver the outcomes we all need.

This event was a quick run through of our new online survey platform!