ASIC hits Future Super over greenwashing
Superannuation fund, Future Super Investment Services, has been hit with an Australian Securities and Investments Commission infringement notice over greenwashing.
The regulator said the infringement notice related to concerns that a Facebook post by Future Super may have been false or misleading by overstating the positive environmental impact of the Fund. The post included the statement ‘Naysayers don’t join together to move nearly $400million out of fossil fuels.’
ASIC said that at the time of the Facebook post, Future Super had approximately $400 million in total funds under management and had no basis to represent that the entirety of those funds had been invested in fossil fuels prior to being invested in the Fund.
Commenting on the development, ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said the post on the Future Super Fund Facebook page overstated the positive environmental impact of the Fund and we were concerned it may be misleading to investors and potential investors.
“This action should send a message to the financial services industry that ASIC is continuing to focus on greenwashing broadly, in statements to the market, disclosure documents, marketing material and on social media. Industry using social media to promote green claims are not immune from ASIC action.”
“We expect the industry to be able to stand by their sustainability statements and back these up with evidence,” Court said.
Future Super later issued a statement in which it said that it had self-reported the Facebook post noting that it had been missing an important caveat.
“The poorly drafted post had intended to make the point that $400 million had been switched away from fossil fuel-exposed super funds as opposed to fossil fuel investments. Facebook’s analytics indicate that the post was seen by under 28 people prior to being taken down,” the fund said.
This is akin to the SAS pulling someone up for jaywalking. Job well done ASIC, stand down.
So they can pull up a super ad for what they deem as misleading, yet cannot put a stop to all the property spruikers offering SMSF advice, and others offering unlicensed advice, which is advertised online, or easily identifiable on their websites via a google search. Astounding!
Or dentist offering early access to super in radio ads.
Funny how Union-dominated Super funds are a protected species, given the claims those funds have made around fees and performance. Maybe these guys need to establish a “marketing cost” in their profit and loss statement to reflect political donations. Some people call that a bribe but in Australia it’s a business expense. Obviously, they didn’t pay off the right Public Servants or promise them a job in their compliance departments.
If only they would act against “Balanced” funds with over 90% in growth assets…