The potential for superannuation funds to make investments with a social impact

M. Scott Donald, Jarrod Ormiston, Kylie Charlton

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Abstract

The trustees of Australia’s superannuation funds oversee the administration of pools of investible moneys of unprecedented size. They are required both by statute and by the general law to exercise their powers in pursuit of the best interests of their members. At the same time, there is a strong demand for capital from what have come to be called “social impact” projects. These are projects which expressly seek to address social or environmental issues while providing competitive financial return to investors. This article finds that superannuation fund trustees may be able to provide finance to such projects if they are careful in their attention to the specific issues arising from these types of investment and they remain focused on how the drivers of expected returns and risk contribute positively to the investment strategy they have designed for their funds.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)540-551
JournalCompany and Securities Law Journal
Volume32
Issue number8
Publication statusPublished - 2014
Externally publishedYes

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