ING to offer SRI funds

ING has made moves into the socially responsible investing (SRI) market with the launch of two wholesale funds available to the retail market through master trusts.

The ING Sustainable Investments Wholesale Global and Australian Share Trusts offer access to international and Australian equities on an SRI basis and use a positive and negative screen for selection. A positive screen requires certain criteria to be included such as employee benefits while a negative screen excludes companies invested in areas such as tobacco, firearms or gambling.

ING Funds Management assistant general manager Patrick Bennett says the international fund is not new but has been been running for some time in Europe managed from ING’s home base in the Hague in the Netherlands. However the Australian share trust is a new development and this is the first time the group has offered either fund in the local market.

Both have no entrance or exit fees while. management expense ratios (MERs) for the funds are 0.95 per cent for the Australian share trust and 1.1 per cent for the international share trust.

Bennett says the funds have been available since June but ING has not publicised their launch as it is awaiting a review of the screening approach used in the funds which will be accessible to planners outside the ING distribution network.