Mindful Money Announces Finalists For 5th Annual Ethical & Impact Investment Awards

Mindful Money is announcing the finalists for the fifth annual Ethical and Impact Investment Awards. These awards celebrate outstanding investors and individuals who have shown strong commitment and expertise in advancing sustainability and impact through their investment approaches. These awards have become the standard for excellence in ethical and impact investing.

The finalists across eight categories were selected from a competitive entry pool by a panel of 23 independent and expert judges. They generously donate their time and expertise to provide skilled and independent judging for the awards. They are bound by strict rules on confidentiality and conflict of interest.

Mindful Money’s Founder and Co-CEO, Barry Coates commented: “The judges play a vital role in upholding the credibility and objectivity of these awards. We are grateful for the time and expertise they have dedicated to selecting the finalists. We now look forward to celebrating the winners in each category at the awards ceremony on 5th June in Auckland”.

:The finance sector stands at a pivotal crossroads where investment decisions today will shape both our climate future and the health of our natural world, issues that are under discussion in the conference that precedes the awards. Urgent change is needed to transition to net zero, build resilience and halt the destruction of New Zealand’s biodiversity.”

The Mindful Money Awards celebrate the role that ethical and impact investing are playing in making money a force for good. They reflect the movement to re-orient investment finance towards sustainability and well-being, switching investment capital from financing harm towards solutions.

Mindful Money’s Co-CEO, Kate Vennell explained: “Our 2024 annual survey has shown that demand for ethical investment from Kiwis remains as strong as ever. Mindful Money awards go deeply into policies and practices of providers in each of the eight categories to identify those who consistently deliver best in class ethical investment outcomes.”

Best Ethical KiwiSaver Provider (sponsored by Public Trust)
This is a crucial category, with a total of over $110 billion invested by 399 KiwiSaver funds. The judges were looking for the fund provider embodying high standards across the main strategies of avoiding harm, engaging with companies to improve their performance, investing for positive impact and embodying an ethical approach.

The finalists in the awards (in alphabetical order) are:

Generate KiwiSaver
Pathfinder Asset Management

Best Ethical Investor
This category includes over $80 billion of funds under management in 548 retail managed funds, as well as private capital, venture capital and asset owner investments. Amongst a wide range of different funds, the judges were looking for providers that demonstrate high ethical standards and outcomes. The finalists are:

Harbour Asset Management
Pathfinder Asset Management
TAHITO
Trust Investments Management

Best New Ethical or Impact Fund
This category is for the fund launched over the past year that best embodies good ethical or impact practices. The judges were looking for innovation, delivering social and environmental benefits and providing New Zealand investors with new types of investment options. The finalists are:

Community Housing Funding Agency
Bay of Plenty Housing Equity Fund
Betashares NZ Sustainability Leaders Fund

Best Impact Investor
Surveys show that the New Zealand public are not only looking to avoid harm in their investments but growing numbers of investors are also seeking funds that contribute to positive social and environmental outcomes. The judges were looking for fund providers that demonstrate a strong impact purpose, a rigorous framework for measurement, examples of high impact investments and contributions by the investor to positive outcomes. The finalists are:

Community Housing Funding Agency
Purpose Capital
Soul Capital

Best Net Zero and Climate Action Investor (sponsored by Morningstar Sustainalytics)
This category covers both the mainstream investment that drives financed emissions towards net zero and dedicated funds investing in climate solutions. This year, the judges focused on funds that are innovating and mobilising capital to reduce and avoid emissions. were pleased to recognise the standout performance of the following two finalists:

Climate Venture Capital Fund series
Motion Capital

Best Ethical Overseas Fund
This category is open to the overseas funds that are actively marketed in New Zealand, generally available to investors through financial advisers and institutional investors. These funds add scale and diversity to investors, demonstrating high standards of sustainable investing. The finalists are:

Australian Ethical Australian Shares Fund
Betashares Global Sustainability Leaders Fund
Stewart Investors Worldwide Leaders Sustainability Fund

Best Ethical Financial Adviser
Financial advisers have an important role in providing informed, independent and appropriate advice on ethical and impact investment. They provide New Zealand investors with financial advice that reflects their values and financial aspirations, and those of their family. The judges were pleased to see the finalists providing strong capability for research into ethical options and an ability to match their clients with suitable products. The finalists are:

Carey Church, Moneyworks
Mark Holtom, Ethical Investing NZ
Dr. Rodger Spiller, Money Matters

Best Media Reporting on Ethical Investment
The judges were looking for high standards of journalism on ethical and impact investing, attuned to the interests of their audiences. One of the crucial criteria for the judges was the impact that the reporting has in terms of engagement, education and influence. These metrics are often difficult for journalists to measure, but provide an important measure of the benefits that are associated with the media reporting. Finalists are:

Susan Edmunds, RNZ
Joanna Mathers, Informed Media
Steven Moe, Seeds Podcast

David Callanan, Public Trust Corporate Trustee Services GM, says he’s proud the organisation is returning as principal sponsor of the main awards for the second year in a row. “The Mindful Money Awards do a fantastic job for raising awareness about the importance of ethical investing and celebrating excellence in the industry,” Callanan says.

As the supervisor for 13 KiwiSaver schemes, Public Trust plays a significant role in investment fund oversight. Public Trust also returns as sponsor of the Best Ethical KiwiSaver Provider award.

“Ethical and responsible investing is a growing focus for many KiwiSaver investors and there continues to be great innovation in New Zealand to meet demand. As a supervisor, Public Trust is proud to support and guide fund managers working in this space.”

Jono Broome, Morningstar Sustainalytics commented that “Despite global headwinds, Aotearoa continues to be a bulwark of responsible investing, attracting consistent net-positive inflows into these funds. Morningstar Sustainalytics is pleased to support Mindful Money in acknowledging leaders in this industry in 2025.”

Barry Coates concluded: “These are all worthy finalists and we look forward to revealing the winners at the awards celebration on 5th June. We are deeply grateful to all of those who submitted entries, including those who have not been shortlisted as finalists. The standard of entries was high and the judges had real difficulty in being able to shortlist a small number of finalists in each category. There were a number of promising entries that are early in their development and we encourage them, and others, to submit entries next year.”

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