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Thursday, 28 October 2021
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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.
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?
Most Australians, especially millennials, expect their super funds to actively target ethical investing. The repercussions for prices and portfolio construction cannot be ignored.
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.
General principles previously governed ethical investing, but both fund managers and clients now accept the more hard-nosed approach of eliminating certain companies from portfolios.
Responsible investing is increasingly mainstream and relevant, but there are many words used to describe similar activities. What do they all mean and how do managers decide where to invest?
Banks are walking away from resources projects, super funds are dumping stocks based on human rights issues and climate change related shareholder resolutions are gaining wide support.
We tend to forget that house prices often fall. Direct lending controls are more effective than rate rises because macroprudential limits affect the volume of money for housing leaving business rates untouched.
The survey drew a fantastic 2,000 responses with over 1,000 comments and polar opposite views on what is good policy. Do most people believe the home should be in the age pension asset test, and what do they say?
Any policy decision needs to recognise who is affected by a change. It pays to check the data on who pays taxes, who owns assets and who earns the income to ensure an equitable and efficient outcome.
With articles on the pensions assets test read about 40,000 times, 3,500 survey responses and thousands of comments, there was a lot of great reader participation. A few comments added extra insights.
It is hard to think of any area of widespread public concern where the same policies have been pursued for so long, in the face of such incontrovertible evidence that they have failed to achieve their objectives.
There are reasons to believe inflation will stay under control, and although we may see a slowing in the global economy, two companies should benefit from the themes of 'Stable Compounders' and 'Structural Winners'.