Fiduciary duty to incorporate ESG By Wouter Klijn, 01 Jul 2011 (www.investordaily.com.au) Colonial First State says incorporating ESG criteria into research will lead to better investment performance. Stocks that score high on environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria are also the securities that perform the best, according to research by Colonial First State Global Asset […]
Read MoreWould you invest your Super in ExxonMobil?
Thousands of GESB & UniSuper fund members are investing in ExxonMobil, an oil company with a long history of controversy in a range of areas. The company is in the Top 10 International Holdings of GESB Super’s ‘Balanced Conservative’ and ‘Growth’ plans (as at 31/03/11), and also UniSuper’s top 10 listed international shareholdings (most recent information available, listed at […]
Read MoreBarrick Gold sparks GESB Super controversy
Barrick Gold, acknowledged as one of the world’s most unethical companies, is in the Top 10 International Holdings of GESB Super’s ‘Balanced Conservative’ and ‘Growth’ plans (as at 31/03/11). Barrick is the largest gold miner in the world, and has been the subject of many documented studies of human rights abuses and environmental devastation globally, […]
Read MoreAre casinos worth a punt?
Nice article by Morningstar (Jeffrey Hutton) about whether to invest in casinos. Nice that is, if you have no ethics and don’t take into account the social problems created by problem gambling…not one mention in the article about whether investors should choose to profit from the misfortune of others. See the article: http://www.morningstar.com.au/stocks.mvc/article/are-casinos-worth-a-punt/3549/1 John Brett of […]
Read MoreUp to 1.4m Aussies invest in the world’s most unethical company via Australian Super
Australian Super has disclosed that it has a substantial investment in Monsanto Co, multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation recently voted the most unethical company in the world. Monsanto, a former manufacturer of Agent Orange, produces genetically modified crops, bovine growth hormone, and herbicides, and is accused of countless bribery and corruption incidents. The superannuation (pension) fund Australian Super invests […]
Read MoreWoodside Chairman dismisses Carbon Price disclosure resolution
Woodside Petroleum chairman Michael Chaney has told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting in Perth that the Climate Advocacy Fund is a “ginger group”* in response to a resolution seeking disclosure of carbon pricing assumptions used by the company in evaluating projects and assessing the impairment of assets. * A ginger group is a […]
Read MoreAustralian responsible investment outperforms mainstream
From ‘Ethical Investor’ 22 November, 2010: http://www.ethicalinvestor.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3998&Itemid=402 The average responsible investor in Australia is getting better returns than the mainstream counterpart for all periods of one, through three, five and seven years in two of the three major investment categories, a new Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) survey reveals. According to analysis of the […]
Read MoreClean Energy: Banking on business to answer the call
by Giles Parkinson, Climate Spectator, 16.11.10 (www.climatespectator.com.au) Westpac has vowed to avoid the financing of any new inefficient and high carbon emitting assets, and says it will focus instead on the development of clean energy solutions. The pledge – the first to come from a major Australian bank – came in the annual report […]
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