Almost 60% of Australians would pay closer attention to their superannuation if their provider reported on environmental and/or social impact of their investments, according to a survey.
A Franklin Templeton survey found interest in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) style investing could be used to enhance member engagement across all demographics.
An average of 88% of the 2,000 respondents thought their super fund should offer a responsible investment option. Of these, 44% of Baby Boomers and 36% of Gen X said this was a ‘very important’ issue, compared to 34% of Gen Y.
Source: Franklin Templeton
Another 56% of Gen Y respondents said they wanted their fund to offer investment options that aimed for a positive impact, along with 44% of Gen X and 41% of Baby Boomers.
Franklin Templeton managing director, Matthew Harrison, said the survey reflected a shift in the current landscape of responsible investments in Australia due to a growing appetite.
“What these findings seem to be telling us is that people are not apathetic about their retirement finance and communicating with people about how their investments might address environmental and social concerns may be a good avenue to strengthen member engagement,” he said.
“While there is growing discussion at the board room level about ESG issues and investing for impact, it is likely there is more that can be done to ‘join the dots’ for everyday Australians so they better understand the role their money can play. We believe asset managers, super fund providers and financial advisers all have a crucial role to play in this.”
Investors have slashed their US equity allocations to the lowest level on record, according to new data from Bank of America.
The message from experts in international trade and economists is that the Australian government should refrain from retaliating with reciprocal tariffs.
The market correction forecast by AMP’s chief economist is in full swing, with three weeks of turbulence culminating in significant losses on Tuesday.
Following a strong risk appetite in January, institutional investors have pulled back in February, with risk-seeking activity dropping to zero amid a decline in equity allocations.