Your Super: Are you profiting from Cigarettes?
Are you profiting from investing in tobacco companies? Most people we talk to find the idea of profiting from cigarette sales sickening. However, many investors find it too hard to establish what types of companies they are invested in via their superannuation or investment funds, so it’s often put in the ‘too hard basket’.
However, basic research shows that many widely used managed funds are large investors in tobacco, alcohol, gambling and armaments companies. The system is self perpetuating: the managed funds make little mention of exactly which stocks they are holding, and if they make a positive return for investors, who cares – right? Wrong – some investors do care, and at JustInvest we assist our clients in learning more about where their money is invested.
Look for names such as British American Tobacco, Phillip Morris, Diageo, Bombardier, and Lockheed Martin in your managed funds. Better still, ask your superannuation provider to confirm that it doesn’t invest in companies like these….after all, did you ask to profit from other peoples’ misfortune? A case in point: Altria is one of the world’s largest tobacco companies. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altria
Reporting form the Bernstein International share fund shows that it invests in Altria (as at June 30, 2010) – see links below. This fund is distributed by major industry players AMP and AXA, among others:
http://www.perpetual.com.au/pdf/FPO1_fundupdate_AXA.pdf
Let’s work together to make these companies accountable – take an active approach to your investments!
