Active Super cops $10.5m penalty over ESG claims
Active Super has been hit with a $10.5 million Federal Court penalty as a result of action initiated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) over greenwashing.
The fine followed the court finding in June, last year, that Active Super had contravened the law when it invested in various securities it claimed were eliminated or restricted by its environmental, social and governance (ESG) screens.
Commenting on the penalty, ASIC deputy chair, Sarah Court said it was a significant penalty and one which sent a strong message to companies making ESG cvlaims that those claims needed to reflect the true position.
Active Super claimed in its marketing that it eliminated investments that posed too great a risk to the environment and the community, including gambling, coal mining and oil tar sands. Following the invasion of Ukraine, Active Super also made representations that Russian investments were ‘out’.
However, contrary to these representations, Active Super held direct and indirect investments in companies such as SkyCity Entertainment Group Ltd (gambling), Gazprom PJSC (Russian entity), Shell Plc (Oil tar sands) and Whitehaven Coal (Coal mining).
What a joke…not a single Director removed…We’re giving carve outs so these trusted super funds can provided Qualified Advice and they’re doing this stuff.
So another Industry Super Fund gets an ASIC fine, another $10.5 Mill + Legal costs, to be paid for by the Members.
Do any Trustees, Managers, Investment Managers pay any fine, lose income or be held accountable for the failures ?????
Of course not.
Is this another example of a soft fine because members pay for the penalty?
Comment/Opinion: Superfund governance in Australia is a two-tiered joke.
What about the properties they own; who continue to disclose high contracted lease rates, but then offer 30% discounts for 5 plus years. Shouldn’t these properties be brought back to market valuations where their cap rates are more reflective of the real market and the gross rent they receive.