Guns, coal & tobacco – is this the future you want?
by Verve
Many Australian’s don’t know where their super is invested, let alone *what* it’s invested in. For most of us, super becomes our biggest asset and one of the most powerful ways we can influence the world we live in.
To give you an idea of how powerful superannuation is: by 2030 super funds will own half of the companies on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). That means everyday Australians will own half of the companies listed on the ASX. As we directly invest in these companies, so they can use our money to grow their businesses – our money can be used to grow tobacco companies or green technology companies. We decide.
Where you invest your super is a vote for the future you want to retire in — the world you will pass on to the next generation. It is your legacy.
Before we started Verve Super – we surveyed hundreds of women to find out how they wanted their super invested. Nine out of 10 women wanted their money invested ethically. Yet, 82% of Australia’s largest superannuation funds show no evidence of taking climate change into consideration. Given many super funds do not freely disclose the companies they invest in (we do!), we simply do not know that our retirement savings might be funding industries like live animal export, detention centres, guns, tobacco and gambling. These companies addict, pollute and cause harm to people, animals and the planet.
At Verve, we’ll invest your super outside of the fossil fuel industry.
Our Fund Managers seeks out investments that create a better future — companies involved in renewable energy, green technology, affordable housing, medical technology, sustainable food production, education and companies that promote women in leadership.
The good news is investing ethically doesn’t mean you have to compromise on returns. In fact, data from The Responsible Investment Association of Australasia, has found that ethical funds consistently outperform mainstream funds over all time periods.
The results in Australia aren’t unique. Global studies from Oxford University, Harvard Business School, and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative, have demonstrated similar positive returns for ethical investments.
This is not new information, it’s simply time to act. As we watch government continue to lag behind a thriving renewable future we have the opportunity to use the power of our investment to create change.
Women will have approximately 1.5 trillion dollars in super by 2025.* That’s an enormous amount of financial power that, if invested ethically, could remarkably reshape our economy — and our planet.
It’s up to us to decide the world we want to create and what legacy we want to leave behind.
Learn more about How Verve Invests Ethically or Why it’s time to talk about guns…and your super and put your money where your values are!
