Mint gets Top International Rating for Responsible Investing

Mint Asset Management Limited (Mint)’s focus on responsible investment has earned it the top rating in a global benchmark that recognises strong governance and strategy.

For the third year, Mint has received an A+ rating from the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI)since becoming a signatory to the global initiative.

A+ is the highest rating achievable for the overall approach taken by Mint’s investment managers.  Another pleasing factor was Mint’s improved score in the key areas of Listed Equity - Incorporation and Listed Equity - Active Ownership, with each moving from B to A.

The UNPRI is the internationally accepted benchmark for how institutional investors should manage environmental, social and governance issues. This assessment recognises Mint’s incorporation of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factor scores for individual companies, which are selected for Mint’s portfolios managed on behalf of both retail and institutional clients.

In the assessment report for 2019, ratings are given across a range of asset classes with Mint scoring ratings of A to A+ (on a scale of E to A+) for listed Equities, compared to peers on a local and global level.

The Principles for Responsible Investment were developed by an international group of institutional investors to reflect the increasing relevance of environmental, social and corporate governance to investment practices.

As a further indorsement of Mint’s approach to ESG, The Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) also released its Benchmark Report for New Zealand this month. It highlighted Mint as one of only eight New Zealand investment managers that clearly demonstrated leading practices of ESG Integration in its investment process.  These include investment processes via our policies, our clearly defined approaches to stewardship, our active ownership (including corporate engagement and voting) and meaningful disclosures. 

Anthony Halls, Head of Investments at Mint, welcomed the independent assessment of Mint’s investment process. He said: “We are very pleased with the report as we believe ESG outcomes are critical to the risk adjusted returns we strive to deliver to clients.  Our analysts devote a significant amount of time and effort on the ESG characteristics of our investments, and the results are evident in the returns we have achieved for our investors”.

The full UNPRI report is available.  Further information on UNPRI’s reporting methodology is available on the UNPRI website.

Media Contact: David Boyle Head of Sales and Marketing

Phone: (09) 300 8487

Email david.boyle@mintasset.co.nz

For further details on Mint’s investment funds please visit Our Funds or call us on (09) 300 8484.