Responsible Investing

The Investment Store is a strong advocate of Responsible Investing.

Responsible investment is a process that takes into account environmental, social, governance (ESG), ethical and sustainability issues into the investment process of research, analysis, selection and monitoring of investments.

Responsible Investing can take a number of forms and approaches; from excluding investments in certain industries and sectors deemed unethical (like tobacco, controversial weapons and gambling) to identifying investments that have positive impacts on the environment and society (e.g. investments in renewal energy).

Responsible investing has grown significantly over the past few years in NZ and around the world...

• The Responsible Investment market in NZ was worth $183 billion as at 31 December 20221
• 74% of New Zealanders expect their KiwiSaver funds and other investment to be managed responsibly and ethically according to a survey undertaken in early 20232
• Governments, businesses and citizens are increasingly recognising the role of finance, including investing, has to play in order for countries to meet their Paris climate commitments (and other sustainable and development goals). Sustainable investing is going to be a key and growing feature of the investment landscape in the years to come.

The Investment Store is a member of the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA, the peak industry body championing Responsible Investing in New Zealand and Australia). Matthew Mimms is currently a board member of RIAA. In 2019 and 2020, he was a member of the Technical Working Group of the NZ Sustainable Finance Forum, an initiative of the Aotearoa Circle. In 2022, he was a member of Development Committee of the Aotearoa New Zealand Stewardship Code.

The Investment Store encourages it's fund manager partners to consider responsible investment issues as part of their investment approach and process. Currently, all of our fund manager partners incorporate responsible investment (in one form or another) as part of their investment process.

To learn more, please contact us on 0800 331 041 or by e-mail to info@theinvestmentstore.co.nz

¹Banhalmi-Zakar, Z., Herd, E., Goodwin, M., Pilawskas, P., Rowe, L., Seawert, A., Srivastava, P., Maniktala, M., Khoo, N., Polidori, M. 2023. Responsible Investment Benchmark Report 2023 New Zealand, Responsible Investment Association Australasia, Melbourne

2Coates, B., Banhalmi-Zakar, Z., Coulson, O., Hegarty, D. 2023, From Values to Riches 2023: Charting consumer demand for responsible investing in Aotearoa New Zealand, Mindful Money, Auckland & Responsible Investment Association Australasia, Melbourne.

Please note, any information expressed or recommendation made on this webpage is in respect of a kind of financial advice product in general rather than a particular financial advice product (for example, an opinion about shares generally rather than shares of a particular company). Neither The Investment Store, nor any of its directors or employees gives any warranty as to the reliability, accuracy, suitability or currency of the information contained in this blog. Nothing in this webpage/blog is, or should be deemed to constitute, financial, investment, taxation or other advice from the investment store or a recommendation from the Investment Store to purchase any product or service. The information provided in this communication is for discussion purposes only and should not be relied on in making an investment decision.