John Berry, Pathfinder’s CEO, urges other KiwiSaver managers to “step up disclosure around how they invest ethically or responsibly. Promises of no fossil fuels, renewable energy investment and emission reductions need to be matched with easy-to-understand reporting.”

In a first for a KiwiSaver manager, the award-winning Pathfinder KiwiSaver has released a detailed Sustainability Report.

Berry adds “KiwiSaver managers disclose financial returns from their investments. Now KiwiSaver managers, especially those claiming ethical or responsible credentials, need to also disclose non-financial metrics.”

Paul Brownsey, Pathfinder’s Chief Investment Officer adds “Investors have a right to know things like the carbon footprint of KiwiSaver investments, the extent of renewable energy exposure and the voting record. This really matters. It’s not enough to say you’re avoiding investment in tobacco, gambling, weapons and other harmful activities. The bigger question is, after avoiding the negative, where do you invest to generate positive benefits?”

Some key statistics from Pathfinder’s Sustainability Report:

• It’s KiwiSaver portfolio has 65% less carbon emitted than a key global equity market index.
• Pathfinder’s KiwiSaver has 3.7 times the exposure to renewable energy and 13 times the exposure to electric vehicles compared to the key global equity market index.
• In the year to 31 March 2021 Pathfinder KiwiSaver voted as a shareholder nearly 5,000 times, and of these 282 votes were against the recommendations of management of the company invested in.
• It has no fossil fuel exposure and its KiwiSaver is invested in only two of the top 20 banks that lend to fossil fuel companies (Pathfinder is committed to divesting these during the current financial year).
• Pathfinder tracks the number of companies it invests in that have emissions reductions targets.

The B-Corp certified fund manager was awarded “Best Ethical KiwiSaver Provider 2021” by MindfullMoney.

https://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/2110/Reduced_size__Pathfinder_Sustainability_Report_2021_Final.pdf

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