Sustainable investing at AMP
☑ Sustainable investment options
☑ Proven performance
☑ Helping our communities thrive
What is sustainable investing?
Sustainable investing is a way of growing your savings while helping to create a better future. It’s about aligning your money with your values while aiming for strong, long-term returns.
At AMP, we believe that investing sustainably is the key to achieving long-term returns. We’re committed to making sustainable investment decisions that deliver healthy fund performance, provide value for money and help create a brighter future for generations to come.
Through our Sustainable Investable Philosophy we aim to achieve benchmark (or higher) returns. This approach has served our customers well since we reshaped the way we invested four years ago, so our customers could enjoy stronger returns, lower fees and more sustainable investments.
Today the results speak for themselves. AMP’s Balanced, Growth, and Aggressive KiwiSaver funds consistently outperform the industry average, and our customers are benefiting from both strong returns and low fees.
We’re transparent and publicly validated
Many New Zealanders want their money to make a positive difference, but worry about greenwashing. In fact, over half say they feel more confident choosing funds that are independently certified.
AMP is recognised as a Responsible Investment Leader 2024 by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA), placed in the top 20% of organisations assessed.
All 23 of our RIAA certified funds have been classified as Sustainable Plus, the highest level of classification. This means that our funds have binding and measurable sustainability objectives, measurement is disclosed, and progress against these objectives is measured and tracked.
With AMP, you can be sure your savings are invested with care for people and the planet, and that commitment is backed by independent verification.
AMP Wealth Management New Zealand Limited has been certified by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia according to the strict operational and disclosure practices required under the Responsible Investment Certification Program. See responsiblereturns.com.au for details.*
Our sustainable investing values
Collectively we have a responsibility to do good for our people and our planet, and this applies to everything we do, including when it comes to making investment decisions on behalf of our customers. Kiwis have been clear that they expect their investments to reflect their values, and more and more are moving to providers they align with.
Sustainable investing is about considering the impact our investments have on society and the world around us alongside other financial outcomes and business factors. Our intention is to:
Support the good
We integrate environmental, social and governance factors into investment decisions. Read more
Avoid the bad
We don’t invest in companies causing harm, such as the fossil fuel industry
Reduce our carbon footprint
We are decarbonising our portfolios with the aim to achieve a net zero outcome by 2050 or sooner. Read more
Advocate for change
We actively engage with companies to deliver better outcomes for customers, shareholders and the climate.
We believe that what’s good for the planet is good for your balance. More and more people want to support businesses that are good for the world, and those businesses are thriving.
Investing for a better future
In July 2021, we launched a new sustainable investment approach to help reduce the impacts of climate change while growing your savings. Here’s how it works:
☑ We exclude companies that don’t align with our sustainable values.
☑ We use our voice through our partnership with BlackRock® Investment Management, influencing companies by voting and engaging for positive change.
☑ We build sustainability into investment decisions across our AMP named funds, considering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.
Unlike some providers, sustainability isn’t an add-on or a single “green” fund. It’s part of every AMP-named fund, so you can simply choose the fund that best matches your goals, knowing it’s already managed with sustainability in mind.
And here’s the best part: investing sustainably doesn’t mean missing out on returns. So you can feel good about your investments and confident in their potential.
Exclusions: what AMP says NO to
We dig deep into company ownership to make sure we avoid investing in businesses linked to activities we exclude. Sometimes, this may mean investing in a company that has a small shareholding in another business involved in those activities.
We say NO to:
Fossil fuels
All companies that earn revenues from the exploration, extraction, production, refinement, distribution and supply of fossil fuels
Palm oil
All producers and any companies that earn revenue from the distribution and supply of palm oil
Nuclear weapons
All companies that provide components or services used in the manufacturing of nuclear weapons, their related components or delivery systems
Nuclear power
All companies generating (or that have installed capacity to generate) more than 5% of their electricity from nuclear sources
Whale products
Companies that derive revenue from whale meat production
Tobacco
All producers of tobacco products and all companies that earn more than 5% of their revenue from the distribution, retail and supply of tobacco-related products
Military weapons
All companies deriving 5% or more revenue from the production of conventional weapons, weapons systems, components and support systems and services
Civilian firearms
All producers of civilian firearms and any companies that earn more than 5% of their revenue from the distribution, retail and supply of civilian firearms
Controversial weapons
All companies that provide components or services used in the manufacturing of controversial weapons (including cluster weapons, anti-personnel mines and biological and chemical weapons)
Find out more about the UN Global Compact principles and what we invest in.
We also have rules around the level of ownership that the companies we invest in can have in other companies that are involved in these excluded areas
We look through layers of company ownership to exclude investing in companies that own certain percentages of other companies involved in these excluded areas. In some cases, this means that we may invest in companies that own a certain percentage of other companies involved in the excluded areas. See our AMP Sustainable Investment Philosophy and our list of exclusion thresholds for more detail.
Stewardship: using our voice for positive change
At AMP, we are committed to addressing climate change through our investments.
One way we can to this is through engaging with companies that we invest in and voting for or against company directors.
Our stewardship partner, BlackRock Investment Stewardship (BIS), prioritises engaging with companies on climate risk and the net zero transition. If companies are not properly managing their exposure to climate risk, BIS will use their vote to signal their concerns.
Voting against management is a way that investors can communicate dissatisfaction with a company’s policies and practices.
News and updates
AMP achieves highest level of responsible investment certification for 23 funds
25 June 2024: All 23 of our RIAA certified funds have been classified as Sustainable Plus.
Sun shines on AMP's first Global Climate Fund investment
19 September 2024: AMP is pleased to announce the first private capital investment made by its Global Climate Fund as part our existing partnership with BlackRock.
AMP fast on carbon-zero investments
15 December 2022: AMP is the first KiwiSaver provider to formally sign up to the internationally renowned Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
BlackRock® is a registered trademark of BlackRock, Inc. and its affiliates (“BlackRock”) and is used under license. BlackRock makes no representations or warranties regarding the advisability of investing in any product or the use of any service offered by AMP Wealth Management New Zealand Limited. BlackRock has no obligation or liability in connection with the operation, marketing, trading or sale of any product or service offered by AMP Wealth Management New Zealand Limited.
* The Responsible Investment Certification Program does not constitute financial product advice. Neither the Certification Symbol nor RIAA recommends to any person that any financial product is a suitable investment or that returns are guaranteed. Appropriate professional advice should be sought prior to making an investment decision. RIAA does not hold a Financial Advice Provider licence.