CFS sustainable super fund hits new highs

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist

4 December 2024

Colonial First State’s (CFS’) responsible superannuation product, the Thrive+ Sustainable Growth Fund, has generated 18.8 per cent returns in the year to 30 September.

According to a report from super research firm, Chant West, the fund also earned equal first in the Socially Responsible Growth fund category and outpaced all other traditional growth funds over the same period.

Certified by the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA), Thrive+ has adopted a three-pronged approach to sustainable investing through its own reflection of environmental, social and governance (ESG): ‘people, planet and policy’.

“Today, investors are more concerned than ever before about issues such as climate change, modern slavery and ethical supply chains,”  CFS Chief Investment Officer, Jonathan Armitage, said.

“As a result, there continues to be increased demand for investment strategies that can adopt meaningful and measurable sustainability practices to deliver both positive sustainable outcomes and positive performance outcomes.

“There is no doubt that we are in a period of change and uncertainty, but when it comes to sustainable investment and Thrive+ our strategy remains the same.

“Times of change always create opportunities, and we are actively working with our investment managers to seize those opportunities both domestically and overseas.

“With Thrive+ we already have exposure to private equity, and we will soon be taking a position in some unlisted infrastructure assets. These investments will both strengthen and diversify the fund, which has benefited from strong gains in equity markets.”

Thrive+ has invested in companies and projects playing a crucial part in the road to net zero through collaboration with Just Climate, a predominantly climate investing business and subsidiary of London-based Generation Investment Management.

Through the Climate Asset Fund, Thrive+ offers exposure to “solutions that will generate outsized emissions abatement while generating attractive risk adjusted returns by providing capital to first-of-a-kind projects”, with initial investments made in Swiss-based global electric vehicle (EV) charging company ABB E-mobility, Swedish green steel start-up H2 Green Steel (now re-named Stegra), Swedish renewable energy firm Meva Energy and Infinitum Electric, which make next-generation electric motors.