Home / SMSFs / SMSF investing / SMSFs: Sustainable investing just got personal

SMSFs: Sustainable investing just got personal

The year 2020 has been a turning point for sustainable investing on so many levels. COVID has brought to the forefront of investors’ minds considerations such as how companies treat their staff, as well as numerous other environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. But it’s not only COVID that has given sustainable investing more prominence.

Rio Tinto’s destruction of Juukan Gorge caves in Western Australia’s Pilbara region in May clearly showed how the community, including the investment community, perceives these sorts of actions as utterly unacceptable.

Moreover, last summer’s bushfires and more recently California’s wildfires put more than a pall over the atmosphere. If it wasn’t already, they established climate change squarely as a mainstream issue.

These issues and more made the session on sustainable investing at research house Morningstar’s recent virtual investment conference truly riveting viewing, with many insights for self-managed super fund (SMSF) investors.

There are now more than 3,000 signatories, representing institutional investors across every asset class, with US$100 trillion in funds under management, to the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment. These investors understand incorporating ESG as part of the investment process better enables them to identify companies that can generate sustainable returns. Their decisions about where to apply the huge amount of capital at their disposal in turn affects the performance of the SMSFs that invest in these funds.

Rio Tinto: Case in point

About the author

Related topics,

IMPORTANT: All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it. If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions. Comments provided by readers that may include information relating to tax, superannuation or other rules cannot be relied upon as advice. SuperGuide does not verify the information provided within comments from readers. Learn more

© Copyright SuperGuide 2008-25. Copyright for this guide belongs to SuperGuide Pty Ltd, and cannot be reproduced without express and specific consent. Learn more

Leave a Reply