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1 December 2023
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A fund manager argues it is immoral to deny poor countries access to relatively cheap energy from fossil fuels. Wealthy countries must recognise the transition is a multi-decade challenge and continue to invest.
Clients are demanding inclusion of ESG analysis into portfolios to enhance corporate transparency and protect the environment. The availability of ESG data is meeting these needs while not comprising returns.
Although Australian investors are among the most ESG-aware in the world, with the vast majority wanting responsible and ethical investments, there are still some misconceptions to dispel.
Climate change campaigns have dominated world news in the last week, but they should not include universal antagonism towards mining. We need resources to build renewables, with one exception.
All our ethics are different. How does an 'ethical' fund manager address the inevitable conflicts of competing priorities, and are there any clues for everybody in dealing with their own ethical dilemmas?
More investors than ever are expecting fund managers to allow for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues, but what are the major factors for 2019?
The definition of capitalism needs modernising, including how a company treats its personnel and customers. Socially responsible companies significantly outperform the averages in job creation and ROE.
Both retail and institutional investors are demanding fund managers respond to ESG issues. A new generation will insist on better standards and will not accept a compromise in returns.
Research suggests a strong trend toward responsible and ethical investing. Valuation effects of disclosure in NZ recently were dramatic, and Australian financial institutions should take heed.
Most Australians, especially millennials, expect their super funds to actively target ethical investing. The repercussions for prices and portfolio construction cannot be ignored.
Investing responsibly or ethically does not mean forsaking returns, and there are now many ways to gain exposure to shares which back an investor's personal preferences.
There is gathering evidence that socially responsible investing (SRI) is not just about doing the right thing, but it does not detract from returns and investors who focus on it are likely to be rewarded.
A new report suggests that Australians are ill prepared for the largest intergenerational wealth handover in history. It's estimated $3.5 trillion in assets will be transferred from Baby Boomers to their children by 2050.
Many people in the Firstlinks community have been reading my articles and editorials for 10 years or more, and worked with me for decades before that, and deserve an explanation for why I have suddenly stopped writing each week.
The rules to age successfully include, 'the unexamined life lasts longer', 'change no more than one-eighth of your life at a time', 'nobody is thinking about you', and 'pursue virtue but don’t sweat it'.
The ASX 200 is around the same price that it was 16 years ago. The poor long-term performance can be largely blamed on our taxation system, which encourages companies to pay out most of their earnings as dividends.
John Bogle famously advocated a two-fund portfolio of US stocks and bonds. Recently, I tried to create an Australian version of the Bogle portfolio and found that what seems simple can quickly turn complicated.
Money withdrawn from super after age 60 is tax-free but less understood are arrangements that allows a couple over the age of 67 to earn up to $57,948 per year outside super and pay no tax with LITO and SAPTO.