NZ Super Fund receives A+ rating from UNPRI

I’ve spent a lot of time following, and writing, about private equity. It was especially important to do this when I was focused on mergers and acquisitions in the Middle East. Now that I’m back in New Zealand I follow what is going on here, although the market is necessarily much smaller. Below is an update on New Zealand’s Super Fund, NZ’s sovereign wealth fund, and how it has performed on the world stage.

NZ SUPER FUND RECEIVES A+ RATING FROM UNPRI FOR RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT GOVERNANCE AND STRATEGY

The NZ Super Fund has received an A+ rating for responsible investment governance and strategy in a 2017 benchmarking report published this week by the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI). This is the third year the Fund has received an A+ rating for its overall approach.

The Fund received A or A+ ratings across all of the specific asset class categories reported against, including Listed Equity, Fixed Income (SSA, Corporate Non-Financial and Securitised) and Listed Equity (Incorporation, Active Ownership).

The UNPRI is the internationally accepted benchmark for how institutional investors should manage environmental, social and governance issues. Its assessment reports, issued annually, outline how the implementation of responsible investment by its signatories compares year-on-year, across asset classes, and with peers at a local and global level. The Fund was a founding signatory of the UNPRI in 2006.

Chief Executive Adrian Orr has welcomed the report. "We are very pleased to have maintained our top tier placing among UNPRI signatories globally. Our ongoing commitment to responsible investment reflects our belief in its materiality to long-term performance; whether they are governance, social, or environmental risks, responsible investment issues are a key part of how we think about risk and return."

The Fund's most recently released monthly report showed the Fund had returned 18.17% in the 12 months to 31 May 2017. The full year results for the fiscal year ended 30 June 2017 will be released in September.

The full UNPRI Report is available on our website. The Transparency Report is available on the UNPRI's website.

Further information on the UNPRI's reporting methodology is available within the NZ Super Fund's report and at https://www.unpri.org/download_report/26907.