Millennials using super to back climate change action

19 September 2019
| By Chris Dastoor |
image
image
expand image

Young Australians are putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to climate change, according to data from millennial superannuation fund Zuper.

The tobacco and nuclear-weapon free fund launched late last year helped Australians add green, health and technology investments to their super funds using exchange traded funds (ETFS) from BlackRock.

They were low-cost investment products that the wealth manager believed would benefit from global megatrends that reshaped economies, like climate change.

Jess Ellerm, Zuper chief executive, said half of Zuper members chose to remove carbon-intensive fossil fuels from their super when joining.

“Over two-thirds of our members also go the extra mile, adding at least one of our health, green or tech options to their super,” Ellerm said.

The fund had invested in global clean energy and water companies with those ETFs returning 21% and 34% this year.

Two-thirds of Zuper members are under 35 years-old, a demographic that had been increasingly frustrated by lack of action on climate change.

The data was released in the lead-up to Friday’s climate strike, which showed younger Australians actions had aligned with their attitude on the issue.

“You don’t necessarily have to leave work on Friday to show you believe in climate change - you can strike with your money by switching your super to be climate friendly,” Ellerm said.

“As our data shows, you’ll possibly increase your long term wealth in the process too.”

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest developments in Super Review! Anytime, Anywhere!

Grant Banner

From my perspective, 40- 50% of people are likely going to be deeply unhappy about how long they actually live. ...

10 months 2 weeks ago
Kevin Gorman

Super director remuneration ...

10 months 3 weeks ago
Anthony Asher

No doubt true, but most of it is still because over 45’s have been upgrading their houses with 30 year mortgages. Money ...

10 months 3 weeks ago

The central bank has served up a disappointment for punters on Melbourne Cup Day....

12 minutes 59 seconds ago

The fund’s inaugural chief retirement officer is looking to establish a new venture. ...

5 hours ago

The sovereign wealth fund remains cautious of the impact of high inflation as it announces a strong return in its latest update....

23 hours ago