News
Processing delay - 19 June 2009
At the start of July each year the investment trust accounts are audited and the distribution to investors is calculated and paid. As a result there may be a delay in processing requests during this month. Although redemption processing may take longer, your redemption amount is still calculated according to the unit price on the date of receipt of your request.
As stated in our product disclosure statement we have 21 days to process a request. In normal circumstances redemptions can be paid within seven days of receiving your request but we ask for your understanding around distribution time.
How do the Australian Ethical funds compare?
|
Rank over
6 months
|
Rank over
1 year |
Rank over
3 years |
Rank over
5 years |
Rank over
7 years |
Category size |
| Large Companies Share Trust |
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
29 Equity World/Australia funds
|
| Equities Trust |
8
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
33 Aust Mid/Small Growth funds
|
| Balanced Trust |
16
|
5
|
18
|
10
|
5
|
58 Multisector Balanced funds
|
| World Trust |
43
|
78
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
145 World Large Blend funds
|
| Income Trust |
51
|
51
|
35
|
22
|
16 |
57 Australian Bond funds
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ranking to 30 April 2009
Source: Morningstar |
©Morningstar Research Pty Ltd 2008. All rights reserved. To the extent that any Morningstar data, ratings or commentary constitutes general advice, this advice has been prepared by Morningstar Research Pty Ltd ABN: 83 062 096 342, AFSL: 243 161 and does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any advice, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. We recommend you obtain financial, legal and taxation advice before making any financial investment decision. All potential investors should obtain a Product Disclosure Statement relating to the product and consider the Statement before making any decision about whether to acquire the product. Please refer to Morningstar's Financial Services Guide (FSG) for more information at www.morningstar.com.au
Boost your super savings with co-contributions
If you’ve got extra savings or are looking for ways to spend your economic stimulus bonus, why not take advantage of super co-contributions? If you are eligible the government will boost your super with a co-contribution if you make extra payments into your super fund.
If your total income is less than $30,342 and you make a contribution of $1000, you will receive the maximum government co-contribution of $1500. If your income is between $30,342 and $60,342 you are still eligible for co-contributions but at a reduced amount.
Use the ATO’s co-contribution calculator to determine your eligibility and the amount of co-contribution.
How to make your payment
Mail a cheque payable to ‘Australian Ethical Superannuation Fund (for [insert your name here]) to PO Box 1916, WOLLONGONG NSW 2500 or phone 1300 134 337 for details on how you can make payment by direct deposit.
Your co-contribution payment will be made after you lodge your tax return for the financial year.
Australian Ethical wins second Infinity Award - 25 March 2009
For the second year in a row, the Australian Ethical Retail Superannuation Fund has won the Infinity Award at the Conference of Major Super Funds (CMSF).
The Infinity Award, presented by SuperRatings, signifies the Fund as Australia’s most environmentally and socially conscious fund and a leader in sustainable investment and sustainable business practices.
The Award comes at a time when many super managers are trying to gain traction in the sustainability space.
CEO of Australian Ethical, Anne O’Donnell, said “The Award recognises Australian Ethical’s long-term commitment to sustainability and our significant experience in the area. For 23 years we have built expertise in investing in truly sustainable companies and doing this in a true to label way.
“Our positive sustainable screening means that we invest in the industries of the future. Renewable and efficient energy, organic foods, sustainable transport, recycling and water, these are the industries which will meet our future needs.
“Australians are selling themselves short when they invest their super in pale-green funds. If people want to invest in a truly sustainable way, they should put their super in a fund that specialises in these industries, not the super manager who treats sustainable investment like an add-on investment option.”
Become a Super Activist
The Wilderness Society is encouraging Australians to become Super Activists. The campaign is designed to help Australians find out whether their super fund takes account of environmental, social and governance considerations when investing their money.
With about $1 trillion invested in Australian super funds, where you direct your super can have a major influence on society and the environment.
The campaign includes a form letter which you can send to your super fund manager to find out if they take environmental considerations into account when investing your money. Australian Ethical’s response to the questions in this letter is below.
Click here to find out more.
1. Yes or no: do you have a formal Sustainable Investment Policy, or are you a signatory to the UN Principles of Responsible Investment? If not, why not?
Yes - All of our investments are monitored on an ongoing basis according to the Australian Ethical Charter
Yes - We are a signatory to the UN PRI, but be advised that this does not necessarily mean avoidance of companies like Gunns - there are likely to be many UN PRI signatories with investments in these sorts of companies.
2. Have you carried out a climate change risk analysis of your investments?
Yes - the Australian Ethical Charter requires that we consider this issue as part of our normal investment process, and we have been doing so for a number of years now. In addition to avoiding companies in sectors such as coal, we are also proactive in terms of seeking out investments in renewable energy and other emerging technologies.
3. Do you invest in Gunns Limited?
NO!
4. If so what formal actions will the fund take to change Gunns' ESG performance?
N/A
Super back office - transition update – 18 December 2008
Secure website access is now available to pension members for details up to 30 September 2008. Data for October and November is expected to be uploaded soon. Transaction listings are not yet available.
Response to the Government’s carbon reduction targets
Australian Ethical is disappointed by the carbon reduction targets announced by the Prime Minister yesterday.
At a time when bold leadership is needed to set a strong carbon reduction target to help combat dangerous climate change, the target reduction of between 5% and 15% by 2020 is considerably short of what is needed.
The government’s own Garnaut Review found that carbon cuts of between 25% and 40% by 2020 were needed to ward off the worst effects of climate change.
The modest targets set by the government will do little to decrease the risk posed by climate change to Australia’s biodiversity and unique ecological sites such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Kakadu wetlands.
With such a small window of opportunity in which our actions can avert or avoid dangerous climate change, Australian Ethical will continue to push for strong carbon reduction targets well beyond those proposed yesterday. Australian Ethical supports targets consistent with those advocated by the Australian Conservation Foundation including:
- a binding national target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30% by 2020 (from 1990 levels), increasing the commitment to 40% if other developed countries do the same;
- a national renewable energy target of 25% by 2020;
- an effective price on greenhouse gas emissions through the national carbon trading scheme; and
- working toward being carbon neutral by 2050.
Such action is not necessarily bad for our economy. Indeed, action now is necessary to avoid much higher costs in the future – a view supported by the eminent economists Sir Nicolas Stern and Professor Ross Garnaut. Similarly, we firmly believe that a shift in our economy to sustainable practises will create a longstanding prosperous economy full of new opportunities.
Australian Ethical’s message is that it is possible to avert or avoid the worst impacts of dangerous climate change by changing behaviours, and more fundamentally, by changing cultural beliefs concerning prosperity, resource consumption and economic growth. We know what to do and how to do it. As the Australian Conservation Foundation spells out:
- Stop wasting energy - become more energy efficient;
- Move to clean, renewable sources of energy - like solar, wind, geothermal and biomass; and
- Use transitional fuels such as natural gas: not renewable, but has far less greenhouse gas emissions than coal.
Australian Ethical’s strategy is to tackle climate change both through our investments and within our own operations. While past performance is not indicative of future performance, the relative strong performance of our managed funds over the recent volatile period on share markets, and over the longer-term, show that concern for the environment need not mean reduced economic or investment performance.
Australian Ethical congratulates Caroline Le Couteur for her election to the ACT Legislative Assembly. Caroline will join the Assembly as one of four ACT Greens representatives.
Caroline’s election came as a surprise to her but is testament to her hard work and convictions. As a result of her election, Caroline will be leaving her role as Australian Ethical’s IT Manager. Caroline is also a founding director of Australian Ethical Investment. As part of the board renewal process Caroline had announced her intention not to re-nominate as a director of the company.
Caroline’s has made a huge contribution to Australian Ethical over 17 years. Her commitment to ethical investment has contributed to Australia Ethical leading the ethical investment industry as the country’s only truly deep-green fund manger.
Australian Ethical thanks Caroline for her commitment to the company and wishes her the very best in her new role representing the people of the ACT.
Government deposit guarantee – 24 October 2008
The Federal Government’s earnest efforts to underpin confidence in the financial system in Australia have, as you would have seen in the media, had some unintended impacts on other forms of investment. Australian Ethical Investment only has one fund which is focused on providing incomes, the Australian Ethical Income Trust. Under the terms of the government guarantee, a little over 60% of the current assets of this trust are protected by the government guarantee, underpinning the security and liquidity of the trust. The other portion of the trust is invested in income assets which have gone through our ethical screening process, and we remain confident in the quality of these investments. A similar scenario applies to the income assets of the Australian Ethical Balanced Trust. Hence, we continue to operate as usual.
Our other trusts are largely invested in listed shares, and although returns have been volatile, the markets remain very liquid and our trusts have performed very well in difficult circumstances to the end of September. For example, the Australian Ethical Equities Trust had a positive return of 7.2% for that 6 month period. Importantly, the long-term returns to September such as 10 years, which are more appropriate for long-term assets such as shares, have provided our investors with very good net returns that have done better than the benchmarks they are compared against.
We will continue to provide regular investment updates on our website through this period to help keep you informed.
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Our green building rated '6 star'
Australian Ethical's refurbished office building (Block E of Trevor Pearcey House in Bruce ACT) has been awarded the 'world leadership' rating by the Green Building Council of Australia. - 19 October 2007 |
