Aussies keen for super to invest responsibly

Out of all financial products, investors are most keen that their superannuation is invested responsibly, according to the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA). 

In its From Value to Riches report which surveyed over 1,000 Australians, the association said 70% of investors wanted their super invested responsibly compared to 54% who wanted their savings account to do so. 

This was even higher for millennials with 81% wanting their superannuation to support environmental and social goals, compared to 60% of Baby Boomers, and 78% of millennials wanting to know how their super fund would vote at meetings compared to 61% of Baby Boomers. 

However, Australians were more trusting of their super provider to deliver on their responsible investment promises as 70% believed their super fund had a positive impact if it claimed to do so and 74% believed ethical and responsible super funds had a positive impact. They also believed a responsible super fund was more likely to perform better in the long term. 

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The most important factor investors cared about was renewable energy and efficiency, healthcare and public health and sustainable water management while they wanted investments associated with animal cruelty, human rights abuses and animal testing to be excluded. 

But, if they did want to change to a more responsible super fund, the report identified six factors which held them back from doing so. These were lack of independent information, lack of credible options, lack of time, cost, difficulty in switching and lack of money in super. 

Source: RIAA