Active Super

Active Super recognises that environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are important considerations in driving long-term investment returns and reducing risk. We incorporate consideration of ESG factors as part of our fiduciary investment management obligation through our responsible investment approach as described here.

For Active Super, responsible investment means:

• Active ownership: We monitor and engage with many of the companies we invest in regarding ESG issues directly as an investor, as well as indirectly through our investment managers and also industry partners like the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI). We aim to exercise our proxy vote at shareholder meetings and generally publish our voting intentions on our website before the meetings take place.


• Positive investments: We actively seek out opportunities to invest in ways that can offset long-term environmental and social risks while delivering the right risk and return characteristics to meet our investment objectives for our members.


• Investment restrictions: Active Super will not knowingly invest directly in shares of listed companies in developed markets that, based on information provided by MSCI, fall within the relevant MSCI indices and contravene our restriction criteria. These restrictions are subject to revenue or asset thresholds and may include companies directly involved in:¹
1. Tobacco: manufacture or production of tobacco products (including cigarettes, cigars, blunts, e-cigarettes, inhalers, beedis, kreteks, smokeless tobacco, snuff, snus, dissolvable and chewing tobacco). Does not include paper, packaging or retail sales.
2. Controversial weapons: manufacture or production of land mines, cluster bombs or nuclear weapons .
3. Gambling: the provision of gambling services to consumers, or the manufacture, production or hosting of gambling machines. Does not include revenue from food or beverage sales, or from retail sales of lottery tickets.
4. Armaments: manufacture or production of armaments.
5. Coal and oil tar: coal mining, oil tar sands mining or coal fired electricity utilities. 
6. Country: companies domiciled in Russia².

Note that these restrictions apply only to direct investment in listed company shares, either by the Trustee or an external investment manager under a mandate from the Trustee. They do not apply to investments in pooled funds.

Our responsible investment approach covers all of our super and account-based pension products.

¹ These restrictions apply only to developed markets, as identified by MSCI. Revenue- and asset-based restriction criteria do not include revenue from the supply of goods, services or materials to specified activities.

² From April 2022. Note that some managers may have residual holdings acquired prior to the restriction coming into effect and that are unable to be liquidated due to international sanctions.