Betashares: Democratising investment
“Betashares believes in the democratisation of investing, offering to investors simple, cost-effective investment products that allow them to gain exposure to a range of asset classes, markets and investment styles and themes.”
About Betashares
Betashares is an Australasian fund manager specialising in innovative and robust investment funds, covering almost every asset class and investment strategy.
Since launching its first fund in 2010, the Betashares Group has grown to become one of the region’s fastest growing fund managers with locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland.
Betashares believes in the democratisation of investing, offering to investors simple, cost-effective investment products that allow them to gain exposure to a range of asset classes, markets and investment styles and themes.
Filling the ethical ETF gap
“Our responsible investment journey began when it became apparent that Australian investors who wanted to align their investment portfolio with their ethical values were underserved by existing options. As a result, in January 2017 after extensive dialogue with stakeholders and investors, we launched our Global Sustainability Leaders Fund (ASX: ETHI) and followed up in November 2017 with our Australian Sustainability Leaders Fund (ASX: FAIR). These products were designed to provide investors with genuine ethical investment options for International and Australian shares.”
– Greg Liddell, Director – Responsible Investments
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Journey to independent verification – “We felt it was important to help lift the bar”
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Betashares sought and received certification of ETHI in 2017 and FAIR in 2018. When launching these funds, it was clear that not all exposures aligned with expectations when it came to their ethical claims, said Liddell.
“As a result, we wanted to support an organisation and process designed to protect investors and improve the integrity of the responsible investment industry in Australia. In particular, we felt it was important to help lift the bar of the investment management industry by ensuring our funds met the high standards of RIAA.”
Benefits of achieving certification
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Greenwashing risk continues to be a critical issue facing managers in responsible and ethical investment. According to Liddell, RIAA’s approach to certification helps Betashares mitigate that risk by ensuring they accurately describe and adequately evidence sustainability claims in relation to products.
“RIAA certification for our funds enables us to tell our investors that the responsible investment claims we make have been independently verified according to a transparent and rigorous process. In effect that there is substance to the responsible investment processes integrated into our investment products.“
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“It’s also accurate to say that RIAA certification has provided us with another set of eyes to test issues around regulatory requirements such as ASIC’s greenwashing information sheet (INFO271).”
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Changing with the times
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Liddell points out that the certification process at its core is designed to ensure that what a fund manager does is consistent with responsible investment principles.
“Over time what has changed is the emphasis placed on being able to evidence any claims in relation to process or outcomes. We have always appreciated the ability to have a dialogue with the analysts working in the certification team. They have always listened to our reasoning for taking a particular approach on a given issue and have normally provided valuable feedback.”
He also says certification has helped Betashares make improvements to its responsible investment practices
“RIAA certification generates a conversation internally around how we evidence the benefits of our approach to ethical and responsible investment. We have certainly made changes to our education and product materials, and disclosure documents, as a result of feedback we received from RIAA during the certification process.”