Summary

Financial advisers are important stakeholders in informing the design and effective uptake of Australia’s proposed sustainable investment product labelling regime. As the primary point of contact for many retail investors, advisers help interpret sustainability claims, explain product labels, and guide clients through an increasingly complex responsible investment landscape.

RIAA’s research shows that 88 percent of Australians increasingly expect their super or other investments to be invested responsibly and ethically (now 88% up from 83% in 2022), at the same time as concerns about greenwashing have increased. In this context, financial advisers are having to navigate the increased interest in sustainable, ethical and values-based investments amongst Australians. Their day‑to‑day experience with retail investors; and engagement with products available in the market provides practical insights to the design of the prospective product labelling regime.

RIAA’s targeted research with financial advisers - including those Certified by RIAA to offer responsible investment products and consider client needs and concerns about responsible investment issues, aims to bring these real‑world perspectives into policy discussions so the regime is practical, transparent, and user‑centred, supporting Treasury’s objective to “help investors identify, compare, and make informed decisions about sustainable investment products”.

How adviser experience can help shape the regime

Financial advisers are uniquely positioned between retail investors and product issuers. They see everyday how real people consumers understand (or misunderstand) sustainability concepts, how products align (or fail to align) with those expectations, and how greenwashing manifests in practice.

Their input into the design of the regime can assist with:

• The use of language that reflects how everyday Australians speak about sustainability
• Reducing misalignment between client expectations and product reality
• Minimising risk of greenwashing through naming and labelling standards
• Supporting, rather than restricting product innovation

Access findings

The RIAA member only report findings, include answers to such questions as:

• Why clients seek ethical investment advice
• What resources would help Advisers better support clients interested in responsible investing?
• Whether Advisers would find it helpful if there were restrictions on terms which can be used to name a financial product, or if issuers had to meet certain criteria before using certain terms