April
Top fundies list reveals turnaround for ESG, mid-cap investors
Climate and sustainability strategies have been serial underperformers, but data for the first three months of the year indicates a big change.
- Joshua Peach
Larry Fink, other top CEOs increase personal security
BlackRock has tripled its security spend for Larry Fink after a backlash over the company’s ESG investing stance – and it’s just one of many companies to do so.
- Louis Ashworth and Brooke Masters
March
Vanguard guilty of greenwashing in ASIC’s first major court win
The funds management giant could be on the hook for millions of dollars in damages, though the court rejected aspects of ASIC’s case.
- Hannah Wootton
December 2023
- Opinion
- Superannuation
Super performance test review must set a high returns bar
It’s reasonable to ask the question about constraining clean energy investments. But the hurdle must ultimately be whether Australians will retire with more income in retirement than would otherwise be the case.
- Blake Briggs
Mercer to pay $11.3m penalty in ASIC’s first greenwashing case
The fine, which is still subject to Federal Court approval, would be the first handed down in a greenwashing court action in the financial services industry in Australia.
- Hannah Wootton
Why this fundie is sticking with one of ASX’s most shorted stocks
Apostle portfolio manager Kylie Parkyn still owns Core Lithium despite its negative returns this season, and says there is still a lot of value to be found in the lithium space.
- Updated
- Joanne Tran
November 2023
‘No brainer’: Why this ex JB Hi-Fi CEO backed a Byron laundry
Businessman and Byron Bay local Richard Uechtritz has wrangled $12 million to open the Byron Shire’s only commercial laundry.
- Tess Bennett
Savers worried large investors are failing to act on climate
The most popular reason investors pulled out of responsible investments was due to greenwashing concerns, and fears their products were not delivering positive outcomes.
- Lucy Dean
CleanPeak Energy gets busy in the ACT; adds 3 solar farms
Street Talk can reveal the rooftop solar outfit has inked an agreement to acquire Sentient Impact Group’s portfolio of 14.5-megawatt solar farms.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
October 2023
Future Super enters the default fund game with GuildSuper acquisition
The deal is expected to be completed before the end of the calendar year and will increase its $10.67 billion FUMA by more than 25 per cent.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
ESG funds are shrinking as managers, investors move on
For the first time, money managers in the United States closed more ESG funds than they opened. In Australia, flows are also slowing right down.
- Jemima Whyte
Investors find value in championing social good
Impact investing is on the rise as more Australians seek to drive positive change as they reap financial returns.
- Prashant Mehra
Perennial fundie’s top small-cap healthcare picks
Perennial portfolio manager Damian Cottier has increased the fund’s stake in Calix and shares why he likes Immutep.
- Joanne Tran
Voice not ‘main game’ for ethical companies
Businesses backing social causes need to test the views of staff and customers and back up words with action, a survey has found.
- John Kehoe
Macquarie’s $59b number-crunchers embrace AI to beat the market
Benjamin Leung and Scot Thompson are using advances in artificial intelligence to pick stocks and drive returns that outperform the index.
- Jonathan Shapiro
Caution creeps into green finance market
As investors and regulators lift the credibility bar for borrowers, the sustainability-linked finance market faces its first real confidence test.
- Updated
- Jonathan Shapiro
ETFs quietly rewrite rule books amid regulatory crackdown
ASIC’s move on Vanguard for alleged misleading marketing has the rest of the ETF sector scrambling.
- Nina Hendy
How to turn your super portfolio green
Forty years after Australian Ethical opened its doors, the $3.5 trillion superannuation sector is scrambling to launch and grow similar ethically invested products. What is on the market and best for investors?
- Hannah Wootton
August 2023
BlackRock hit by backlash after fall in ESG votes
The New York City comptroller has accused the $14.7 trillion asset management group of giving in to a war against environmental, social and governance causes.
- Nicholas Megaw, Brooke Masters and Madison Darbyshire
Wall Street is growing to hate these three letters, so is Target
The retailer suffered a backlash from customers over its Pride merchandise, the latest company caught in a recoil in the US against those championing social issues.
- Matthew Cranston
