Since its establishment over 60 years ago, AEGN founding member The Myer Foundation has been at the vanguard of Australian philanthropy. In recent years, The Myer Foundation sought to amplify its social and environmental impact by aligning its investments with its philanthropic mission.
Immediate past President Martyn Myer AO, who stepped down in November after 11 years in the role, has spearheaded The Myer Foundation’s rapid transition towards 100 per cent ESG (economic, social, governance) aligned investment of corpus.
Speeding up transitions
In 2020, The Myer Foundation embarked on an accelerated transformation of our portfolio to sustainable investments that achieve genuine social and environmental good and superior financial performance. This year alone, the weighting of these ESG investments nearly doubled to represent almost the whole portfolio.
Our journey to ESG-aligned investing has rapidly evolved in recent years. Younger members of the Myer family have been calling for The Myer Foundation to divest itself of all fossil fuel stocks for some time. This is what I characterise as ESG investing 1.0, that is, a simple negative screening of the portfolio. The problem is that this strategy doesn’t generate strong financial returns and has limited environmental benefits and the market has moved on from simple equity divestment or exclusionary investing.
Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals
New ESG products entering the market are producing strong financial, social and environmental gains, which are accelerating the capacity of investors to transition their entire investment portfolios sustainably. These high quality, financially competitive products use the Shared Value thesis, aligned with targets such as the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Shared Value posits that corporate success and improved social and environmental conditions are in fact inherently linked – and when achieved together, they can dramatically enhance future prosperity. The SDGs provide a clear pathway to address social, economic and environmental challenges and with 193 nations committed to achieving them, it signals broad global consensus, creating a powerful economic tailwind for aligned companies.
Approximately 50 per cent of The Myer Foundation’s portfolio was invested in ESG funds by the end of 2019, but when we decided to really speed up the process to achieve 100 per cent ESG aligned investment, we knew we needed help. In March this year, we partnered with Mercer’s Responsible Investment business to help implement a substantial portfolio restructure and fast track progress towards The Myer Foundation’s goal of achieving 100 per cent ESG investment by November 2022, which we set in November last year. As a result, The Myer Foundation’s portfolio is now rapidly approaching 100 per cent ESG alignment, two years ahead of schedule.
We encourage more of Australia’s philanthropists to transition towards 100 per cent responsible investing.
Martyn Myer AO
Collaboration with Mercer
Mercer’s research across asset classes around the world found that the best sustainable investment strategies in Australian equities delivered an annual return of up to 10.4 per cent per annum over the last three years to June 2020, as compared to a 5.2 per cent return from the ASX300, and a 5.3 per cent return from the median actively managed Australian equities fund over the same period.
Commissioning Mercer to help us to find the funds that we thought would suit us and enable us to rapidly approach our 100 per cent goal this year has been an incredibly positive move. Many family offices and foundations want to go down a more ethical path, but aren’t sure how to go about it, which is why employing experts could help.
We firmly believe that our portfolio restructure can inform investors seeking to enliven their portfolios to meet the challenges faced by the global community and demonstrates that you do not have to choose between doing good and making competitive returns. We encourage more of Australia’s philanthropists to transition towards 100 per cent responsible investing.
If you are interested in The Myer Family Foundation’s responsible investment journey, please contact Jane Thomas, Program Manager at jane@myerfoundation.org.au
This article does not constitute financial advice.
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