UniSuper halves fossil fuel exposure
UniSuper has made significant progress on committing to net-zero emissions as overall fossil fuel exposure has halved from 5% to 2.5%.
The $100 billion superannuation fund was targeting reduced carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement and 26% of the portfolio was already expected to be carbon neutral by 2022.
Some 40 out of its top 50 Australian investments, and 66% of the full portfolio, had set Paris-aligned targets, up from 34 in 2020, and a further five had committed to set them by the end of 2021.
The level of fossil fuel exposure in the fund had fallen from 5% to 2.5% while the percentage of the fund exposed to fossil fuel extraction was 0.4%.
This progress had been achieved by divesting certain positions, opting not to increase existing positions and avoiding those companies where more than 10% of their revenue came from mining thermal coal.
Chief investment officer, John Pearce, said: “There is no doubt in my mind that the collective action of large investors like UniSuper has played a significant role in driving that behaviour. We strongly believe that engaging with companies and helping them progress toward these targets represents a more meaningful contribution to achieving the Paris goals than divestment – which effectively transfers fossil fuel exposures”.
The fund offered three options which were designed to avoid companies involved in the production, generation of transmission of coal, oil and gas and these had $12 billion in funds under management.
Its Global Environmental Opportunities option, which invested in companies who earnt their revenue from providing environmental solutions, had delivered returns of 48.9% over the last financial year.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
Laura Dew is editor at Super Review. Prior to joining SR, she spent five years working at Investment Week in the UK covering asset and wealth management.
Recommended for you
The central bank has announced the official cash rate decision for its November monetary policy meeting.
Australia’s maturing superannuation system delivers higher balances, fewer duplicate accounts and growing female asset share, but gaps and adequacy challenges remain.
Global volatility and offshore exposure have driven super funds to build US-dollar liquidity buffers, a new BNY paper has found.
Less than two in five Australians are confident they will have sufficient assets to retire and almost three-quarters admit they need to pay greater attention to their balance, according to ART research.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
225.31 3 y p.a(%)
2
Loftus Peak Global Disruption Fund Hedged
120.73 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
72.47 3 y p.a(%)
4
Paradice Australian Mid Cap A
69.09 3 y p.a(%)
5
Global X Ultra Long Nasdaq 100 Complex ETF
61.94 3 y p.a(%)
