Sustainable Investment Philosophy
Our Philosophy
AMP Wealth Management New Zealand (AMP) has a Sustainable Investment Philosophy based on a framework of principles aligned to our values and designed to continue to produce returns in line with or better than a traditional market index.
Our business is guided by the core values of wellbeing, sustainability, and aspiration, which form the basis of our sustainability strategy. Our Sustainable Investment Policy emphasises sustainable investing as a core part of our offerings, reflecting the growing demand among New Zealand investors for responsible investment approaches. Whilst we do not conduct our own research of consumer preferences, we consider market research and published consumer surveys from independent entities to provide a view of consumers when reviewing our sustainable investment settings. AMP’s Sustainable Investment Philosophy applies to AMP-branded funds – where AMP is directly responsible for managing the funds). The Philosophy also does not apply where sufficient independent sustainability research is unavailable for certain asset classes or securities, or where an investment is intended to specifically support positive climate or other impact outcomes. See Scope of Philosophy below for further detail.
Our Sustainable Investment Philosophy is based on four key pillars:
Support the good
A key part of integrating sustainability factors into our decisions is that our investments in corporate bonds, equities and infrastructure are more exposed to less carbon-intensive sectors (such as information technology and financials), and less exposed to the sectors that are more carbon-intensive (such as energy).
In addition, for our index-managed funds, we have a preference to select indices that seek to overweight exposures to companies with higher (Environments, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings.
At present, these indices apply to our global equities and global bond funds. We review the performance of these indices and the evolution of other ESG indexes regularly. For more on how supporting the good works across AMP- branded funds, click here.
Avoid the bad
Avoiding the Bad at AMP means excluding companies that participate in business or sectors that are our focus areas in terms of non-sustainability. For example, we generally avoid investment in companies involved in oil and gas exploration, production, refining, transportation and/or storage. Our view on non-sustainable activities is informed by what we determine to be harmful to the world. We also consider market research and published consumer surveys to provide a view of consumers. These exclusions may not apply in limited circumstances, including where an investment is intended to support positive climate or other impact outcomes, where assets are managed by third parties, or where sufficient data is unavailable.
To learn more about where these exclusions do not apply, click here.
For a full list of our exclusion’s thresholds, click here.
Reduce our carbon footprint
We believe that one of the biggest challenges facing the world today is the impact of human activity on our environment - particularly from climate change, and therefore this is AMP’s strongest focus. We believe that climate risk is an investment risk, and therefore an approach to investment management that considers climate impact is important. AMP has committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our investment portfolios by 2050 or sooner, to manage our exposure to potential climate risk. For more on our net zero commitment, click here.
Advocate for change
As a large investment provider, it is important to use our voice to influence positive change. There are two key ways we can use our voice to advocate for positive change. These are:
Influencing the companies that we invest into (stewardship): Our stewardship approach has two key aspects: (1) voting through shares held; and (2) engagement with companies which we apply to AMP-branded funds via an investment partner (BlackRock) exercising these rights on behalf of us (or in consultation with us).
To read more about our investment partner’s stewardship approach, click here.
Influencing the wider industry: We are committed to joining wider initiatives and focus groups to increase positive industry engagement outcomes. Our current initiatives include the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA), the Net Zero Asset Managers’ Initiative, and the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).
Scope of Philosophy**
** AMP’s Sustainable Investment Philosophy applies to AMP-branded funds - where AMP is directly responsible for managing the funds. There are certain instances where AMP’s Sustainable Investment Philosophy does not apply. To learn more about where this does not apply, see below.
Where AMP’s Sustainable Investment Philosophy does not apply
1. Restricted Securities Exceptions
AMP may invest into assets that are for the purpose of specifically supporting positive climate or impact outcomes. These investments will be individually assessed based on the expected net positive climate change mitigation and/or adaptation impact brought about through the investment. For example, an investment into gas utilities infrastructure may be suitable to support the benefits delivered by the transition of this asset into renewable hydrogen energy infrastructure. Factors such as emissions reductions and transition planning will be factored into this assessment. If investments are not deemed to bring a net positive impact, they will not be considered investable. These investments will be maintained on a register, alongside the impact assessment and rationale for investment. This will be made available to investors on request.
2. Third-party managed funds
AMP’s Sustainable Investment Philosophy, including our Restricted Securities List, only applies to AMP-branded funds. For non-AMP branded funds, the underlying investment manager will have their own approaches to sustainable investing. To read about third-party managed funds Sustainable Investment approaches, refer to the following links.
Milford -Sustainable Investing -Milford (milfordasset.com)
BlackRock -Global-Select-Funds-with-BlackRock.pdf
Data Coverage
Certain asset classes or securities may not be covered by our data provider, Sustainalytics. Typically there is no data coverage of government bond, currency, and cash holdings, however some equity and corporate bond holdings are also outside of the research of Sustainalytics. Where data is unavailable, our Sustainable Investment Philosophy does not apply. As at 31 December 2025 our data provider covered 94.8% of our listed equity and corporate bond holdings. The availability of research and ESG data continues to evolve and expand.
Updated April 2026