Australian Ethical membership growing

Superannuation fund Australian Ethical has released its half-year results to 31 December 2014, revealing a continued upward trend of Australians making the shift to ethical investing.

Membership of the superannuation fund grew by 22% during this period, despite the fact that the median fund across the industry experienced negative member growth of -1.4%. Furthermore, increased inflows and strong investment performance have led to more than $1 billion in funds under management (FUM) - a 30% increase on the comparative period to 31 December 2013.

Australian Ethical operates under the premise that all of its investments must meet the principles of its Ethical Charter. Managing Director Phil Vernon said the company’s focus “continues to be on building a long-term, sustainable organisation that benefits all of our stakeholders and has significant social and environmental impact”.

Vernon said Australian Ethical’s investment performance is “consistently strong, with many of our funds performing in the top quartile of their categories”. According to independent superannuation research firm SuperRatings, Australian Ethical’s Smaller Companies investment option recently outperformed 85 other funds’ returns to take out the number one spot in the ‘Australian Shares’ category, with a return of 16.1% for the 12 months to December 2014.

“Our approach to investment means that we are investing in sectors that are experiencing strong growth,” said Vernon.

“Sectors such as biotechnology, IT, health care and renewables are the cornerstones of our business and in turn attract progressive, mindful investors that see that these investments are some of the biggest growth opportunities we have ever seen.

“More and more investors are seeing that ethical investing is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do.”

For more on Australian Ethical’s half-year performance, click here.