If you want to get broad overview of the responsible investment market in New Zealand, the recently released ‘Responsible Investment Benchmark Report 2019 New Zealand’ is a good starting point. The report is produced by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) each year and provides an update on the responsible investment market, how it is changing, and how responsible investments are performing against the mainstream funds.

So what are the key take-outs from this year’s report? We look at some of the results from RIAA’s research into the market over the last 12 months and how this aligns with our own responsible investment strategy and engagement activity.

First, it comes as no surprise that the responsible investment market continues to grow. As responsible investing becomes more mainstream, growth is continuing its upward trajectory and there is now around $188 billion assets under management in New Zealand. This reflects the increased scrutiny from investors on the role of investment managers in not only delivering attractive returns, but also their influence and impact on societal and environmental outcomes.

As noted in the report, there are many different ways to engage in responsible investment …