Investment

ACSI may name companies with poor sustainability disclosure

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 15 JUN 2012  |  NEWS
The vast majority of ASX200 companies do not provide a sufficient level of disclosure on sustainability risk and disclosure "continues to be of questionable quality," according to research from the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI).

Investor Profile: Omega Global Investors

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 8 JUN 2012  |  NEWS
Omega Global Investors is a specialist fixed income investment manager based in Melbourne. Omega received a nearly AU$170m mandate from the nearly AU$6bn Local Government Super superannuation fund to implement a global government bond strategy that explicitly ...

AMP Capital fund buys stake in Indian clean energy company

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 8 JUN 2012  |  NEWS
The AMP Capital Asian Giants Infrastructure Fund (AGIF) has purchased a minority stake in clean energy company Shalivahana Green Energy Limited (SGEL) for almost US$29m.

LGS ESG sovereign debt strategy includes green bond tilt

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  WEDNESDAY, 6 JUN 2012  |  NEWS
Local Government Super (LGS) has moved all of its nearly AU$170m government bond allocation to a strategy that explicitly incorporates environmental, social and governance (ESG) analysis into the selection process, including a specific allocation of ...

Report: US$174bn global market for climate-themed bonds

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 1 JUN 2012  |  NEWS
There is USD$174bn worth of climate-themed bonds outstanding today, covering sectors including energy, building and industry, climate finance, water, waste and pollution controls, agriculture and forestry, according to a report by the Climate Bonds Initiative ...

Australian Ethical Investments faces EGM board spill

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 1 JUN 2012  |  NEWS
A group of dissatisfied shareholders are seeking to spill the entire board of fund manager Australian Ethical Investments at an extraordinary general meeting called for 21 June.

Majority of ASX200 lack formal labour, human rights policies

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  WEDNESDAY, 30 MAY 2012  |  NEWS
Only 14% of ASX200 companies have formal policies addressing labour and human rights issues, despite the index's heavy weighting towards sectors with high frequency and/or severity of labour and human rights controversies, according to a new report from ...

Disruptive innovation, ESG factors pose media sector risk

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 25 MAY 2012  |  NEWS
Listed media companies are impacted by ethical and governance issues as well as industry-wide disruptive innovations, and investors should research carefully to avoid potential value traps, according to AMP Capital.

Fund management bodies oppose ASX share placements proposal

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  WEDNESDAY, 23 MAY 2012  |  NEWS
The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) and the Financial Services Council (FSC) are opposing a proposal by the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) to allow small to mid-cap companies to issue discounted new shares to investors via placements.

Low Carbon Australia finances $1.6m Ipswich building upgrade

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  WEDNESDAY, 23 MAY 2012  |  NEWS
Low Carbon Australia has helped finance the $1.6m upgrade of a 7,000 square metre office and retail building in Ipswich, Queensland.