Fund in Focus: Australian Ethical – Australian Shares Fund
The Australian Ethical – Australian Shares Fund uses an Ethical Charter to seek out or avoid investments that do not fit within the charter as being socially or ethically responsible. Australian Ethical believes in the transformative power of money to achieve positive social and environmental outcomes. Their goal is to deliver socially responsible outcomes whilst delivering sustainable positive returns.
The Ethical Charter
The Ethical Charter uses a negative screen to exclude companies that:
- Pollute
- Destroy or waste non-recurring resources
- Have harmful effect on humans (including the manufacture and sale of alcohol, tobacco and gambling)
- Encourage militarism or engage in the manufacture of armaments
- Exploit people through the payment of low wages or poor working conditions
- Discriminates by way of race, religion or sex in employment or marketing
- Contributes to the inhibition of human rights generally
The Charter seeks out investments which provide for and support:
- Production of high quality and properly presented products
- Locally based ventures
- Appropriate technological systems
- Development of sustainable land use and food production
- Preservation of endangered ecosystems
- Activities that contribute to human happiness, dignity and education
- The dignity and well-being of animals
- The efficient use of human waste
- The alleviation of poverty in all is forms
- The development and preservation of appropriate human buildings and landscapes
Performance
The Australian Ethical – Australian Shares fund investment style is high conviction stock picking with a benchmark unaware approach. The outcome of the Ethical Charter is an extensive list of excluded industries, however the inclusions identify sustainable investment opportunities that have long term growth and benefits to society. These investments in this fund can help to build a new low-carbon economy, fund medical and technology breakthroughs, efficient transport all while delivering sustainable returns for the investor.
The inclusion of this fund in the Limberg Asset Management investment models provides an alternative style of investment which reflects our values while also providing diversification within the Australian market.
The retail version of this fund has been around since 1994 and has been able to consistently deliver 10% p.a. The wholesale version which is the same fund with reduced fees and the version that Limberg Asset Management clients are invested in has delivered 17.50% p.a. since Jan 2012.
