Mint strengthens its SRI rating with the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment

Mint strengthens its SRI rating with the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment

2020 has been a year that current generations have never experienced before. COVID-19 has had a massive impact socially, financially and environmentally, affecting every corner of the globe.

As we navigate our way through the rest of this year, Mint is proud to have maintained both its above market performance during these unprecedented times and our overall UNPRI rating at the highest level of A+/A.

Why does this matter?

At Mint, we believe environmental, social, and governance aspects should be a primary consideration when making investment decisions and as such have integrated these factors into our investment philosophy and process. In other words, we believe those companies that score well in all three categories will, over time, perform better than those companies that do not incorporate these important factors into their business.

This process cannot be a set and forget approach either.  Just as UNPRI have upped their reporting requirements, at Mint, we are continually reviewing and evolving our approach to this important component of investment management. A case in point has been the exclusion of fossil fuel extraction from our portfolios early this year.

However, it’s not just about exclusions

Investors are also wanting more transparency from their investment managers so they can see what the manager is saying they are doing is actually being done. That’s why being a UNPRI signatory since 2015 and getting this latest rating is so important to us and peace of mind for you.

The key measures UNPRI look at as part of their ratings process include:

• Strategy and governance
• Comparisons with peers
• Integration of ESG issues into the investment process
• Evidence of active ownership and shareholder voting

The other important factor to remember is our ESG approach is incorporated across all our funds. This means whatever fund you choose to invest in these important factors will be applied.

These are indeed challenging times and we know the market volatility you have experienced along with return dispersions between managers has not been easy.  However improving transparency, and getting good qualified advice that supports investors long term goals can't be underestimated.

The above article is intended to provide information only and does not purport to give investment advice. Mint Asset Management is the issuer of the Mint Asset Management Funds. Download a copy of the product disclosure statement here: www.mintasset.co.nz