FY22 in review

2022 saw many Australians embracing the return of our freedoms. However, markets are struggling to return to normal.

When markets are falling, it’s easy to become reactive and drift from established principles and processes in response to short-term market conditions. But having a singular focus on ethical investing, guided by our Ethical Charter, provides a stable lens through which to view the world. While our short-term performance has been impacted by market pressures, we remain committed to our ethical investment approach that has a long-term and strategic focus on the companies that have sustainable business models and contribute to a more positive future.

Many of the better performing ASX companies over the year were in the carbon-intensive resource sector which we are underweight. The current global surge in energy demand is delivering windfall profits for fossil fuel companies in the short-term, where we don’t invest. Meanwhile our long-term overweight to smaller innovative companies has detracted from recent returns. These earlier stage, small, growth-orientated companies have underperformed in the rising interest rate environment, although we remain confident in their long-term growth prospects.

We take comfort in our years of experience and long-term performance – like our flagship Australian Shares Fund (Wholesale), which is a top quartile performer over 3, 5 and 10 years.¹ Ours is an approach that has been tested over multiple cycles, including the GFC and COVID - and despite current volatility we remain focused on our contribution to a more positive future, together with opportunities to invest wisely for the long-term.