HESTA is placing its support behind the health and community services sectors and is playing its role in raising awareness of the negative impacts of tobacco by encouraging investors to limit portfolio exposure to it, according to chief executive, Debby Blakey.
Blakey said many HESTA investors were employed in the health and community services sector and were already pre-exposed to tobacco-associated health risks.
“It’s vitally important that we raise awareness of this issue. We’re committed to responsibly investing our member’s super savings by being a careful long-term steward of their investments,” she said.
“Our portfolio-wide exclusion on tobacco and signing this Investor Statement reflects our ongoing commitment to ensuring that we’re making a positive impact on the world our members will retire into.”
The move from HESTA coincides with World No Tobacco Day, with the investor statement backed by the United Nations’ (UN) Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The UN would release a list of signatories today.
Michael Lovett, who left the investment firm just three months after launching its Vanguard Super offering, has taken up a chief executive role at an Australian asset manager.
The Central Bank of Ireland has granted the approval of Equity Trustees’ exit from its Irish operations, with the transaction expected to be complete on 30 April.
Super returns continued to climb in March, raising hopes of delivering double-digit returns by June depending on the performance of this next quarter.
The dedicated super fund for emergency services and Victorian government employees is under fire for unpaid entitlements to transport employees, which could exceed $40 million.
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