Karen McLeod is a Brisbane-based Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP), who has chosen to specialise in ethical investments for the last 18 years. She looks after clients across the country. Her passion for ethical and responsible investment emerged in the mid-2000s as the world started to take note of the emerging climate crisis. She realised that clients wanted to make a difference by investing in solutions to save the planet such as renewable energy and recycling, rather than those polluting the environment or causing harm, like fossil fuels and weapons. Karen served a board member on the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) for 10 years, and for 10 years on the RIAA Product and Adviser Certification Panel. She currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Ethical Advisers’ Cooperative: Engagement Working Group. She is an active speaker at many events including: the AFR ESG Summit, the Australian Shareholders Association, 350.org, Australian Conservation Foundation, and the Climate Summit. She has written papers and talks for many industry courses and conferences including Kaplan Education, the Australian newspaper, the Australian Financial Planning Association and New Zealand’s Responsible Investment conference. Karen has been included in many press articles with the AFR, The Australian, and the ABC to highlight the benefits of ethical and responsible investing. In 2009, the Australian Financial Review’s ‘Smart Investor’ magazine awarded Karen a place in their Master Class Top 50 Honour Roll (Australia wide). This achievement was based on her technical expertise. She was also awarded a place in the Financial Standard’s FS POWER 50 Adviser List in 2019 and 2020, for her contribution to the industry.