Rest recognised as a Responsible Investment Leader: RIAA report

Rest has today been recognised as a Responsible Investment Leader by Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) in its 21st Responsible Investment Benchmark Report 2022. The report, researched in collaboration with EY, reviewed the investment practices of 140 investment institutions in 2021 and is the most comprehensive review in Australia of how responsible investment is applied.

The report found that $1.54 trillion of assets are under the management of leading practice responsible investors, as an increasing amount of assets are managed with responsible investment approaches. This has all been against a backdrop of changing consumer expectation and stronger regulatory scrutiny of disclosures by funds around the financial risks of climate change.

Respondents were graded across four key pillars including commitment to responsible investment; ESG-related risk management; strong investment stewardship; and allocating capital which contributes to solutions.

Commenting on the result, Head of Responsible Investment & Sustainability at Rest Leilani Weier, said: “We believe that responsible investment adds value, and we’re thrilled to be recognised as a Responsible Investment Leader for our actions and approach in this area. Through the integration of environmental, social and governance factors into our investment decisions and across our active ownership approach, we look to reduce risk, improve returns and maximise investment opportunities to benefit our members’ retirement savings.

In advancing our commitment to responsible investment, we have delivered against our Roadmap to Net Zero Emissions by 2050, launched our choice option Sustainable Growth, and published our inaugural Sustainability, Responsible Investment and Climate Change supplement to our Annual Report.

As a super fund and universal owner, we know we have a meaningful contribution to make, and we can do this through how we invest. We will continuously pursue better responsible investment practices and evaluate our investment decisions in this regard taking into account member expectations while managing investment risks and leveraging opportunities.”

The full report can be accessed here.

Ratings/awards are only one factor to consider when deciding how to invest your super.

You can learn more about Rest’s responsible investment approach here.