Ethical Advisers’ Co-op Annual Report

11 Mar 2022

Wayfinding for Ethical Investment and Positive Impact

"Ethical investment advisers and their clients are wayfinders. We are transforming the finance system and financing the transformation needed for a sustainable future."

The Ethical Advisers’ Co-op has just released their 2021 Annual Report, and Money Matters was thrilled to be significantly featured and to provide the wayfinding theme. We are the only Kiwi members of the Co-op – which advises over 3,600 clients across Australia and New Zealand, who collectively invest more than $2.72 billion.

The report highlights the Co-op’s efforts throughout 2021 to elevate the finance industry and keep investors informed – including their engagement activities, ethical fund ratings, and member events.

In his ‘Chair’s Message’, Terry Pinnell states that the ethical investment sector – and the number of ethical funds under management (FUM) is continuing to grow each year. “I think the recent issues of major bushfires, climate change and Covid have made more people realise that their investments are making an impact on the environment and the society in which we live.“

The report’s introduction references Chellie’s and my work during the Co-op’s 2021 Ethical Investment Week. This included a Wayfinding for Ethical Investment webinar, which you can watch here.

Quotes from several of our clients were also included in the report, for example these words from Yoshimi B.:

“I'm confident that my investments are helping to make the differences needed for the regenerative development of humanity and the planet.”

Towards the end of the report, another adviser’s client was quoted as saying that when first engaging with an ethical financial adviser, they were “half expecting to be buying shares in a mung bean co-op on the outskirts of Hippyville.” They were pleased to see this wasn’t the case. Instead, the client received advice that they described as “sound and well explained”, and a range of investment options. As outlined in the Co-op’s report, the ethical investment options continue to increase.

Terry Pinnell finished his ‘Chair’s Message’ with a reference to the genuine social good that money can achieve. “A huge part of the impetus for the exponential growth in the number of funds has been due to the influence of the Ethical Advisers Co-op and its members,” he says. “This is an exciting time to be an ethical investment adviser and to be a member of a vibrant Co-op of talented and committed advisers!”

To read the full annual report, click here.