Media releases

The Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) is pleased to unveil the appointment of Co-CEOs, Estelle Parker and Dean Hegarty to take up the leadership of the organisation, marking an important step for RIAA with dual CEO representation in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Following an extensive global search, the RIAA board proudly announces the promotion of two distinguished executives within RIAA, who will jointly take over as Co-CEOs upon the departure of current CEO, Simon O’Connor in early December 2023. Over the past three years, Estelle Parker and Dean Hegarty have demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing a more responsible and sustainable financial system as Executive Managers at RIAA. Their leadership has been instrumental in RIAA’s growth and impact, placing the organisation in a robust position today. RIAA’s Chair, Ross Piper expressed, “The RIAA board is very pleased to announce the appointment of two proven and highly skilled executives as Co-CEOs. Estelle and Dean bring deep market knowledge, strong program delivery and commercial skills, as well as having demonstrated their leadership and expertise in responsible investment across our markets.”

The Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) strongly welcomes the Treasurer’s Sustainable Finance Strategy as a pivotal milestone, highlighting the significant role of investment labels in the responsible investment industry. The Strategy, with one of its priorities on developing a labelling system for investment products marketed as sustainable, marks a crucial step towards aligning the finance sector with Australia’s net-zero transition. The Treasurer’s consultation paper sets the stage for a remarkable transformation in Australia’s financial landscape by introducing a labelling system for investment products marketed as sustainable. RIAA underscores the critical impact of this development on the responsible investment sector, which has been a priority outlined in the Strategy. Simon O’Connor, CEO at RIAA, acknowledged the Sustainable Finance Agenda as a significant stride towards international alignment but stresses the urgency of Australia’s actions. “The government knows it has a rare opportunity to rapidly change the landscape of investment and finance through this Strategy. But let’s not kid ourselves, whilst we’re not starting from scratch, we are late to this important policy discussion and so must move fast and leverage existing industry efforts to play catch up,” said Simon.

NEW YORK CITY: CFA Institute, the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA), and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) have issued a new resource that aims to bring greater understanding and consistency to terminology used in responsible investment, specifically: • Screening • ESG integration • Thematic investing • Stewardship • Impact investing For each term, CFA Institute, GSIA, and PRI have outlined a definition, detailed explanation, a list of definitions that served as the primary inputs, and guidance for using the terms in practice. The paper is intended for investors, regulators, policymakers, and other market participants. The collaboration was inspired by calls from regulators for voluntary standard setters to develop common terms and definitions to ensure consistency throughout the global asset management and wealth management industries. Promoting the consistent and precise use of terminology contributes to efforts to address greenwashing.

The Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) has taken a monumental step in advancing responsible investing in New Zealand by establishing the Aotearoa Collaborative Working Group. As the landscape of responsible investment in New Zealand has rapidly evolved over the past three years, RIAA’s proactive approach continues to reshape the industry, as it establishes the Aotearoa working group to collaborate and share leading practices and knowledge. With RIAA members now accounting for over 70% of the New Zealand market, and a substantial 64% of Kiwisaver funds invested in RIAA certified funds, the launch of the working group serves as a vital progression towards fostering a thriving economy, environment and society surrounding responsible investment.

Responsible investment funds in New Zealand have overtaken traditional funds for the first time, reaching a record $183 billion in 2022, while traditional investments dropped 9% to $169 billion, a new report by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) has revealed. The Responsible Investment Benchmark Report Aotearoa New Zealand 2023, researched in collaboration with EY, shows the responsible investment market now makes up more than half (52%) of the total managed funds market in New Zealand. Dean Hegarty, Executive Manager at RIAA said, “It’s only a few years since responsible investment was seen as a niche market. But the landscape has now turned on its head – today, funds not actively engaged in responsible investment are not just lagging; they’re stranded at the starting line of a race that’s already in full swing.”

After two years of development, the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has released its final Framework, giving investors a commonly-accepted basis to compare companies’ nature-related risks. The Framework was unveiled at UN Climate Week in New York. The Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) has warmly welcomed the release of the Framework, describing it as a “monumental moment” for the responsible investment sector, and has issued a challenge to Australian and New Zealand companies to join the inaugural cohort of TNFD adopters to be announced in January. “As Convenor of the official Consultation Group for the TNFD in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, RIAA is excited to be working with all sectors to facilitate its uptake. This will be crucial to making better business and investment decisions that protect and restore, rather than destroy, nature,” said Estelle Parker, Executive Manager at RIAA.

New responsible investment report reveals, financial markets in Australia are embracing ESG and responsible investment, yet rapidly increasing standards risk some being left behind. The 22nd annual Responsible Investment Benchmark Report released by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) has revealed that ESG considerations are now deeply embedded across investment markets in Australia. Read the full press release to learn about the key findings of the report.

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.

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.

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.