According to the Responsible Investment Association of Australia (RIAA), Australians are increasingly concerned with the environmental, social and governance (ESG) qualifications of their super funds, with nine in 10 savers expecting their super to be invested responsibly.

Its latest study, the Super Fund Responsible Investment Benchmark Report 2018 found that seven in 10 would prefer to invest in a responsible super fund and four in five would think about moving their superannuation to a fund that aligned with their beliefs.

“If the superannuation industry is to realise its potential for fuelling a productive, prosperous and healthy future for Australians, it needs to be one that embeds ESG considerations alongside traditional financial factors, avoids contributing to harmful activities and backs the building of tomorrow’s businesses, industries and communities,” RIAA said.

However, in order to do so, it said super funds need to commit to responsible investment strategies.

With this in mind, it highlighted the 13 leading super funds, based on their approaches to the RIAA’s five-pillar framework. The pillars include governance and accountability, responsible investment commitment, responsible investment implementation, measurement and outcomes, and transparency and responsiveness.  

In order to make the cut, funds had to disclose comprehensive responsible investment data across at least four of the pillars.