Vision Super calls for greater disclosures
Vision Super was the only Australian super fund to sign a letter to the Financial Accounting Standards Board on their revised Exposure Draft for the proposed Accounting Standards Update from investors worth of $1 trillion.
Stephen Rowe, Vision Super chief executive officer (CEO), said income and tax information were essential to gauge the risks of investing in a company.
“Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) isn’t just about environmental factors,” Rowe said.
“The social and governance factors are also very important for a company’s long-term performance, and long-term performance is what determines returns for Vision Super members.”
Rowe said consideration of ESG factors had been built into their full investment approach and they had been one of the earliest to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment, and participate in the Tax Engagement Group.
“Multinationals that have found themselves at odds with tax authorities in recent years include some big names like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, McDonalds, Nike, Shell and Starbucks – a lot of Australians have money invested in these companies because of their super,” Rowe said.
“That’s why we signed the letter calling for greater disclosures – the proposals from the Financial Accounting Standards Board only propose to look at US vs non-US information, and we believe information at a country level is necessary to really understand the risks a company is taking, and how that might affect their performance in the long-term.”
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