The responsible investment body has emphasised the importance of clear communication as ART takes a substantial shareholding in Tabcorp.
The Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) has said transparency is key following Australian Retirement Trust (ART) becoming a substantial shareholder in Tabcorp.
Speaking to Super Review, RIAA co-chief executive Estelle Parker said the important issue from a responsible investment perspective is whether clients and members have access to all the information they need to make their own investment decisions.
“So, RIAA would ask, ‘Has the fund been upfront about any change to its exclusions? What is the fund telling its members? What kinds of claims is it making about its options, and do these public claims line up with the portfolio holdings?’” Parker said.
She added that ethical investment means different things to different people, with some investors unwilling to support gambling, while others may reject fossil fuels or weapons.
“In the end, funds will decide what the exclusions will be, and may consider market demand,” she said.
RIAA’s consumer research has shown that gambling is the third most common issue Australians want to avoid in their investments, following animal cruelty and human rights abuses.
The same research found that 88 per cent of Australians expect their superannuation to be invested responsibly and ethically.
“More and more, people are wanting to align their investments with their values – that is, to factor in people, society, and the environment in their investments,” Parker said. “And everyday people are in the driver’s seat: it’s not hard to change to a different super fund that seeks to align holdings with more positive outcomes.”
Parker further stressed that responsible investment is much broader than simply screening companies in and out.
It includes active engagement with companies to improve performance, exercising voting rights at annual meetings, disclosing full portfolio holdings, and accounting for risks such as the impact of climate change.
“There are so many super options out there on the market now – it is a very diverse landscape and the options for more sustainable investments are also very diverse.”
“This really reflects the diversity of opinions among people as to what they’re comfortable with in their investment portfolio,” she added.
Tabcorp confirmed that ART became a substantial shareholder on 15 August, with 115,954,838 ordinary shares, representing 5.072 per cent of the company’s issued capital.
An ART spokesperson previously told Super Review that the fund’s purpose is to deliver benefits to members, which requires investing across a wide variety of asset classes.
“This means investing in a wide variety of asset classes with the aim of delivering strong, diversified and long-term returns to our members.”
“ART’s scale and commitment to investing in Australia means we have substantial holdings in ASX-listed companies,” the spokesperson said.
