ESG outperforms mainstream funds
Over the past financial year, managed responsible investment portfolios fell by an average of 3 per cent less than funds in the broader mainstream market, which dropped by 14 per cent over the same period.
This was one of the key findings to emerge from Responsible Investment 2009 — the ninth annual benchmark report commissioned by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA).
According to RIAA executive director Louise O’Halloran, the report found that the average return of responsible investment in Australian shares, overseas shares and balanced growth managed funds outperformed the average mainstream fund over one year and seven years, with overseas shares and balanced growth managed funds outperforming the average mainstream fund over all time periods up to seven years to June 2009.
“In a period that witnessed the aftermath of the US sub-prime loan crisis, a worldwide collapse in asset prices and the flow through on the global financial crisis, this year’s benchmark figures once again confirm that taking environmental, social and governance (ESG) into account is a profitable and prudent investment strategy,” O’Halloran said.
O’Halloran confirmed that the level of mainstream institutional investor support for ESG issues was increasing, with the growth of Australian signatories to the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment up 34 per cent from 2008, with assets under management now standing at $554 billion.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
Recommended for you
The central bank has released its decision on the official cash rate following its November monetary policy meeting.
ASIC has cancelled the AFSL of a Melbourne-based managed investment scheme operator over a failure to pay industry levies and meet its statutory audit and financial reporting lodgement obligations.
Melbourne advice firm Hewison Private Wealth has marked four decades of service after making its start in 1985 as a “truly independent advice business” in a largely product-led market.
HLB Mann Judd Perth has announced its acquisition of a WA business advisory firm, growing its presence in the region, along with 10 appointments across the firm’s national network.
