Phil Vernon

Financial highlights

• Net profit after tax attributable to shareholders of $6.5m (up 29%)
• Consolidated statutory net profit after tax of $6.6m
• Revenues of $41.0m (up 14%)
• Performance fee on Emerging Companies Fund $0.8m following strong investment outperformance
• Operating expenses of $31.8m (up 11.3%)
• Final ordinary dividend of 3 cents per share, fully franked; total dividend for year 5c (up 25%)
• Strong balance sheet, no gearing

Operating highlights:

• Group funds under management of $3.42bn (up 21%)
• Net inflows of $322.1m (excluding institutional)
• Superannuation membership at 43,079 members, with funded membership growing 11%
• Strong performance across the investment portfolio recognised with multiple industry awards
• Continued uplift in net promoter scores: +62 (super) and +54 (managed funds) among the best in the industry^[1]
• Top quartile staff engagement score of 71%
• Strong operating cash flow

Australian Ethical Investment is pleased to announce that net profit after tax for the year ended 30 June 2019 rose 29% to $6.5m, driven by continued super membership growth, positive inflows and strong investment performance.

Consolidated statutory net profit after tax was $6.6m (FY18: $5.1m), which included the results of The Australian Ethical Foundation Limited (‘The Foundation’).

Funds under management (FUM) for the full year increased by 21% to $3.42bn, up from $2.82bn reported for the previous period. Revenue arising from the increase in FUM was partially offset by the managed fund fee reductions implemented in October 2018 as the benefits of increasing scale are passed onto customers. Revenue increased 14% to $41m, up from the $36m recorded for the previous corresponding period.

Australian Ethical continued to achieve positive net flows with $322.1m (excluding institutional) net flows in FY19, compared with $372.5m in FY18. While still positive, the lower net flows in FY19 were due to lower super rollovers and reduced managed fund flows following volatile investment markets in the first half.

Membership of Australian Ethical Super continues to grow, reaching 43,079 members, with funded members growing 11% from the previous corresponding period.

Phil Vernon, Australian Ethical Managing Director, said: “For over 30 years Australian Ethical has aimed to be the proof point that you can achieve strong investment returns whilst caring for the planet and society.

“Our leadership continues following outstanding investment returns. Our super fund Growth and Balanced options were ranked first and second respectively by SuperRatings for one-year performance, our Australian Shares option ranked first over both five and seven years and all bar one of our managed funds achieved above benchmark returns. A performance fee of $0.8m was earned following the strong investment outperformance of our Emerging Companies Fund.^[2]

“We’re proud to continue to set the standard for ethical investing in this country.”

Operating expenses increased by 11.3% to $31.8m, up from $28.6m for the prior corresponding period. This reflects the increase in fund-related costs driven by growing FUM and members, as well as continuing investment in the business, brand and people to ensure the business is positioned strongly for the next phase of growth.

Australian Ethical Foundation Limited

The Foundation was established in July 2015 as a vehicle to manage the portion of profits to be distributed to charitable, benevolent and conservation causes in line with the Australian Ethical Constitution. All income received and net assets of The Foundation are restricted to The Foundation’s activities and are not available for distribution to Australian Ethical Investment Limited’s shareholders.

In FY19 $0.9m has been provisioned for impact initiatives.

Summary of Group profits

Final dividend

The Board declared a fully franked final dividend of 3 cents per share for the full year ended 30 June 2019, bringing the total dividend for the year to 5 cents per share, an increase of 25% on the previous year. The record date for the dividend is 4 September 2019 with payment on 18 September 2019.

Outlook

Mark Simons, Australian Ethical Chief Financial Officer, said: “Australian Ethical continues to occupy a special place in the Australian financial services landscape. We are ideally placed to capture opportunities for growth as more people realise that our approach is achieving strong returns with positive impacts.

“In FY20 two key areas of focus will be continuing to invest in our digital platform to enhance the customer experience and invest to lift our brand awareness to maximise our reach within the ever increasing market for responsible investing.”

Australian Ethical remains committed to fulfilling the trust of a growing number of Australians and delivering the results they want for themselves and the planet.

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Phil Vernon

Australian Ethical has opened its Community Grants program for 2019 and is inviting grassroots organisations that are making positive humanitarian, environmental and animal welfare impacts to apply.

Australian Ethical’s grants program is a defining feature of the company’s role as one of Australia’s leading purpose-driven organisations. To date, it has delivered more than $3 million over the past 19 years to support organisations and people building strong and vibrant communities across Australia and overseas.

The program offers grants of $10,000 – $20,000 to not-for-profit organisations, social enterprises and registered Australian charities with applications open until 31 May 2019.

Phil Vernon, Australian Ethical Managing Director, said: “As a business, we’re driven by a bigger purpose than just making a profit; we believe it’s important to make the world a better place too.

“From advocating for asylum seekers in Australia to protecting endangered rainforests and animals in Borneo, we are passionate about helping organisations make a difference. Our grants program enables organisations to make a bigger impact in the communities where they operate.”

When Australian Ethical first began in 1986 it was written into its constitution that it would give 10% of profits^[1] back to the community; which is done via the Australian Ethical Foundation.

Over the years, business growth has generated more funding for the Foundation, which in turn has influenced a more strategic approach to creating social and environmental impact.

As a result, this year only organisations with an annual operating revenue of less than $1.5 million are eligible to apply.

Nick Chadwick, Foundation Officer, said: “Effectively, we want our Community Grants to fund smaller, locally based groups who work closely in their communities. This targeted support for grassroots organisations is combined with our more strategic giving, focused on high-level systemic change and multi-year support for selected organisations.

“Being able to ‘grow the good’ at all levels represents a fair spread across Australia as well as overseas to maximise Australian Ethical’s impact.”

• Application guidelines available here
• Applications close 31 May; recipients are announced in September.
• Read about what last year’s recipients have been up to.

[1] Every year Australian Ethical distributes up to 10% of its yearly after-tax profits (before deducting bonus and grant expense) to charitable organisations and social impact initiatives through the Australian Ethical Foundation. This commitment is embedded in Australian Ethical’s constitution.

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Jacki Johnson

The leaders and senior executives of Australia’s major banks, superannuation funds, insurance companies, financial sector peak bodies, civil society and academia are coming together to set out a roadmap for realigning the finance sector to support greater social, environmental and economic outcomes for the country.

The Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative has today been unveiled – an unprecedented collaboration to help shape an Australian economy that prioritises human wellbeing, social equity and environmental protection, while underpinning financial system stability, in what it says is a ‘critical decade’ ahead.

Modelled on international best practice already seen in groups including the European Union’s High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance and the UK’s Green Finance Taskforce, the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative will be guided by a Steering Committee charged with developing a set of recommendations to enable the finance sector to contribute more systematically to the transition to a more resilient and sustainable economy.

IAG Group Executive Jacki Johnson, co-Chair of the Initiative, said: “The roadmap we create will include pathways, policy signals and frameworks that will better enable the financial services sector to contribute to delivering on international commitments, such as the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, while underpinning economic stability and prosperity for Australia.”

An Australian Sustainable Finance Roadmap will be delivered by the Steering Committee in 2020 with recommendations that will assist the financial services sector to:

1. Mobilise capital to deliver on national and global sustainable development and climate goals;
2. Enhance the sustainability, resilience and stability of the financial system by embedding sustainability, climate and human rights considerations into financial markets and products;
3. Ensure better informed financial decision making by enhancing disclosures and transparency on environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities; and
4. Deliver a financial system that meets community expectations around sustainability.

An Expression of Interest process in late 2018 called on experts active in sustainable finance to nominate to be part of the Steering Committee.

The following members and observers were appointed

Members

• Anna Skarbek, CEO – ClimateWorks
• Christina Tonkin, Managing Director Loans and Specialised Finance – Institutional – ANZ
• Damien Walsh, Managing Director – Bank Australia
• David Atkin, CEO – Cbus
• Didier Van Not, General Manager Corporate and Institutional Banking – Westpac Banking Corporation
• Emma Herd, CEO – Investor Group on Climate Change
• Eric Williamson, Executive General Manager, Corporate Finance – National Australia Bank
• Jacki Johnson (Co-Chair), Group Executive People, Performance and Reputation – IAG
• John Hewson, Chairman – Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia
• Mark Joiner, Chairperson – QBE Australia Pacific
• Mark Senkevics, Managing Director Head Australia and New Zealand – Swiss Re
• Matthew McAdam, Director Asia Pacific – Principles for Responsible Investment
• Michael Thorpe, Managing Director Institutional Banking and Markets – Commonwealth Bank of Australia
• Phil Vernon, Managing Director – Australian Ethical Investment
• Richard Brandweiner, CEO – Pendal Group
• Robynne Quiggin, Professor – University of Technology Sydney, Business School
• Sarah Barker, Special Counsel – Minter Ellison
• Simon O’Connor (Co-Chair), CEO – Responsible Investment Association Australasia

Observers

• Geoff Summerhayes, Executive Board Member of APRA, Executive Committee Member of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and Chair of the Sustainable Insurance Forum.
• Eric Usher, Head of the UN Environment Program Finance Initiative, Economy Division, UN Environment

Simon O’Connor, Initiative Co-Chair and CEO of the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA), says “Issues such as climate change and human rights have become material to business and the financial services community. Climate change was recently described by the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia as a ‘systemic risk’ to the stability of our economy, and APRA emphasised last week that climate risks are ‘material, foreseeable and actionable now’ ”.

“The financial services sector is both exposed to those risks, as well as having an essential role in funding and underwriting a future Australia, providing the capital necessary to deliver on sustainable development and climate-related commitments. Through a greater alignment between the financial services sector and these sustainability goals, the sector can both deliver for Australians while building a better, more stable and sustainable financial system.”

“This unique and high-level collaboration will set out a roadmap for achieving this goal and shows the willingness of the financial services sector to step up and play an active role in building a more sustainable and resilient economy for all Australians,” said Mr O’Connor.

Jacki Johnson says “a sustainable and resilient economy is a necessity, not an option, and is the foundation for ensuring Australia’s prosperity throughout the 21st century.”

“As we approach 2020, we are rapidly entering a critical decade for managing climate change and other risks,” said Ms Johnson.

“Australia has made a number of commitments to international targets. Achieving these goals extends beyond social or environmental objectives – it’s an economic and financial necessity. Our economy simply cannot prosper in an environment of ever-increasing severe weather events and the subsequent broader impacts these will have.”

“Delivering on these goals requires not just government policy and commitment, but business and finance leadership. Achieving these goals presents a sizeable economic and social opportunity.”

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Kim will be responsible for managing all product and operational activities together with implementing an overall organisational strategy focusing on customer and technology as Australian Ethical Investment continues to realise its ambitious growth targets.

Phil Vernon, Managing Director at Australian Ethical Investment, said: “We are delighted to welcome Kim to Australian Ethical Investment. She brings significant operational and industry expertise to our organisation which we look forward to leveraging to support the ongoing growth of our business.”

Australian Ethical Investment, as a leading ethical investment and superannuation provider, is actively investing in its infrastructure to manage the growth it is experiencing.

“The success of Australian Ethical proves profit can come with the pursuit of a higher purpose and we are finding that the growing number of Australians who want to see their money do good are actively seeking us out as having the highest ethical conviction of any responsible fund,” Vernon said.

“But beyond this, our unique purpose-driven culture is also helping us attract top talent like Kim as we continue to scale up our business to meet the growing demand for what we do.”

Significantly, Kim’s appointment brings gender diversity at senior management to just under 50/50 split (44% female / 56% male). The company, which has exceeded its gender diversity targets for the overall business, has a 50/50 gender split at Board level.

Vernon says: “We view the current state of gender diversity in the Australian workplace as a social inequity in that it is not reflective of society.

“Having a diversified workplace brings a broad perspective that better enables us to service our clients and position us for long-term, sustainable success.”

Australian Ethical Investment releases its half-year results on 22 February 2019.

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The appointments are in response to Australian Ethical’s ongoing growth in funds under management (FUM) and memberships as ethical investing continues to gain mainstream attention

Australian Ethical Investment’s Managing Director Phil Vernon said having a clear business purpose and value-aligned investments is attracting top talent

“We are a purpose-driven business and people are highly motivated to join us because our work is having a long term positive impact,” Mr Vernon said

“We believe a financial system based purely on the pursuit of profits or financial returns is not enough. A new model is needed where all decisions are made conscious of their broader impact on the world around us. Our employees tell us they feel very connected to a business that is so aligned to their values.

New team members include:

Ms Deana Mitchell, Equities Analyst (appointed 19 March)

With over 20 years’ experience in equity markets, Deana joins the investment team at Australian Ethical as an Equities Analyst.  Deana comes from Macquarie where she worked for almost 14 years in various roles in equities research. Most recently she was Deputy Head of the Emerging Leaders Research team, which was ranked number one in the Peter Lee Survey.

Prior roles were Head of ESG Research, where her research was highly regarded in the market, and senior analyst in the financials team, where her insurance research product was rated number one for five consecutive years.

In 2017, Deana was awarded #8 overall stock-picker of all Australia/NZ sell-side analysts in the Thomson Reuters Analyst Awards.

Ms Amanda Richman, Ethics Analyst (appointed 19 February)

Amanda Richman has joined the team as an Ethics Analyst. In her previous role, she was a Senior Associate at Allens law firm.

Amanda intends to use her legal training and six years of commercial experience to critically assess investment opportunities and advocate for change.

In 2016, Amanda was a finalist of Lawyers Weekly’s 30 under 30 in the Dispute Resolution category. She also received an Australian Young Lawyer of the Year Award in 2013. She brings to Australian Ethical a wealth of experience as an animal advocate, as former Chair of the NSW Young Lawyers Animal Law Committee and as a senior lawyer at the Animal Law Institute.

Ms Dimity Macdonald, head of Communications (appointed 2 February)

With more than 25 years’ experience in financial services, Dimity was appointed Head of Communications in February after a year contracting in the role. Most recently Dimity spent four years at Qantas Super as Head of Member Experience for the $7 billion fund, previously holding senior marketing and communication roles at J.P. Morgan and AXA.

These senior female appointments come on the back of Australian Ethical’s attainment of 50% gender representation on the Australian Ethical Investment Board and the naming of one of its Board members, Mara Bun, as the first female president of the Australian Conservation Foundation.

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Phil Vernon

Financial and operating highlights (all comparisons to half year ended 31 December 2016)

• Net profit after tax attributable to shareholders $2.157m ^[1] (2016: $0.564m up 282%)
• Consolidated statutory net profit after tax of $2.318m (up 307%)
• Underlying profit after tax (UPAT) of $2.157m (down 5%)
• Revenues of $17.4 m (up 31%)  Operating expenses of $14.2m (up 40%)
• Interim ordinary dividend of 165 cents per share, fully franked
• Group funds under management of $2.6bn (up 41%)
• Net inflows of $341m (up 63%, includes institutional flows of $139.6m)
• Superannuation membership at 37,699 members (up 23%)
• Continued above benchmark performance for our flagship Australian Shares fund over the medium and long term

Australian Ethical Investment Limited (ASX: AEF) has announced its financial results for the half year ending 31 December 2017, reporting an increase in net profit after tax attributable to shareholders of $2.157m1 (up 282% when compared with the prior corresponding period).

The consolidated statutory net profit after tax, which also includes the results of Australian Ethical Foundation Limited, was $2.318m (compared to $0.569m in the prior corresponding period). The large increase in the net profit after tax attributable to shareholders is due to significant expenses in the prior corresponding period associated with the unit pricing remediation in the superannuation fund.

In the half year to December 2017, operating expenses increased due to additional fixed headcount in the finance, operations, risk & compliance and customer support areas. Underlying profit after tax was $2.157m, down 5% compared with the prior corresponding period, reflecting these increases.

Managing director Mr Phil Vernon said, “As already flagged to the market, we have embarked on a step-change strengthening of our support infrastructure to ensure we remain resourced to effectively manage our vigorous growth”.

Half-year revenue increased 31% to $17.4m, up from the $13.3m recorded for 31 December 2016. Average revenue margin is gradually reducing over time as higher margin retail products become a smaller proportion of funds under management.

Consequently, the growth rate of revenue tends to be lower than the growth rate of funds under management.

Growth

Funds under management (FUM) grew to $2.6 billion, up 41% from $1.8 billion reported at 31 December 2016, while net inflows of $341m were up 63% on the prior corresponding period. The growth in FUM was driven by continued strong superannuation member growth, increasing net inflows into our managed funds including a significant institutional client and positive investment performance.

Membership of Australian Ethical Super grew 23% to 37,699 from 31 December 2016. “The growth of ethical investing continues,” said Mr Vernon. “People are demanding transparency and accountability in all aspects of their life, including their investments. They want to know their money is working hard to build a better world that they can enjoy in their own retirement, for their children and for generations to come,” he said.

“Individuals proactively seek out Australian Ethical as having the highest ethical conviction of any responsible fund. For 30 years we have been guided by the 23 principals of our Ethical Charter in everything we do, our investment philosophy and every aspect of our day-to-day business practices. Now more than ever, people want to align their investments with their personal values,” said Mr Vernon.

Australian Ethical Foundation Limited (“Foundation”)

The Foundation was established in July 2015 as a vehicle to manage the portion of profits to be distributed to charitable, benevolent and conservation causes under Australian Ethical’s Constitution. Utilising a vehicle such as the Foundation provides more flexibility. Net profits within the Foundation are not available to shareholders.

———-

[1] Net profit after tax attributable to shareholders excludes the net profit after tax of the Australian Ethical Foundation. All income and net assets of the Foundation are restricted to Foundation activities and are not available for distribution to Australian Ethical Investment Limited’s shareholders.

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Phillip Vernon

Moral Fairground has awarded its fifth annual Ethical Enterprise Award to an organisation that helps to alleviate poverty by supporting local entrepreneurs in some of the hardest hit communities from Kenya to Bangladesh.

The Ethical Enterprise Awards, sponsored by Australian Ethical, recognise enterprises in Australia that help make the world a fairer and more transparent place.

This year’s winner is YGAP, a Melbourne-based not-for-profit organisation helping entrepreneurs improve the lives of people in communities across Africa and the Asia Pacific.

“We believe backing local entrepreneurs is the most effective, sustainable means of tackling poverty because it redistributes power and choice to disadvantaged communities,” said Patrick O’Callaghan, Manager Business Development and Partnerships at YGAP.

“These local leaders understand the unique challenges and strengths of their communities and are often much better positioned to identify opportunities to change lives through the establishment of social business opportunities.”

Partly funded through its Richmond, Victoria restaurant Feast of Merit, YGAP focuses on early-stage ventures that improve access to education or healthcare, create jobs or build safer homes.

YGAP will receive a cash prize of $10,000, courtesy of Australian Ethical, and plans to apply the funds to an accelerator program supporting 15 female entrepreneurs in Africa.

Research has shown that the rates of female early-stage entrepreneurship in Africa are among the highest in the world, with many women starting businesses out of necessity. However, Africa also has a high discontinuance rate, with women often closing their business due to lack of finance.

“While there’s a lot of research suggesting our model of backing social entrepreneurs is a really great way to alleviate poverty, there is far less opportunity and support systems for female founders in many parts of Africa. That’s why we are conducting a search right across the continent to bring together female entrepreneurs who are working on issues aimed at improving the lives of women and children,” said Mr O’Callaghan.

Making the world a better place

Commenting on the awards, Australian Ethical Managing Director Phil Vernon said he is pleased to see organisations working successfully to make the world a better place.

“We’re strong believers in the power of entrepreneurship and enterprise working with community to deliver real solutions to many of the social and environmental challenges that confront us. YGAP are empowering individuals with great ideas to alleviate poverty in their local communities, and we’re thrilled the prize money will help them continue their work,” Mr Vernon said.

Ms Susanna Bevilacqua, founder of Moral Fairground, said, “It is the courage and determination of purpose-driven enterprises and the people behind them that will shape the future of business. It is these enterprises that push boundaries, encourage innovation and collaboration at every level of society and shift the culture of business.   Moral Fairground believes we should celebrate the efforts of these enterprises with their endeavours to create positive outcome locally and abroad.”

Winner of the second prize of $7,000, donated by Lush Australia, is Nutrisoil, a business in north east Victoria producing a worm-derived liquid fertiliser used to enhance natural farming practises. The business aims to make food more nutritious and environmentally sustainable by improving soil quality and reducing the need for chemicals in the production process.

Third prize winner, Recipe4Change, will receive $6,000 of professional business coaching, donated by Trusted Negotiator. At its commercial kitchen in Rowville, Victoria, Recipe4Change teaches unemployed people and vulnerable youth to cook nutritious food using excess produce rescued from supermarkets, and then provides the food to local families experiencing tough times.

The other three finalists are:

• Creativity Australia
• Elkie & Ark
• Monsta Surf

The awards were judged by a panel including representatives from Moral Fairground, Australian Ethical, Lush Australia and The Trusted Negotiator.

The winners were announced on October 16 at the Awards dinner coinciding with Moral Fairground’s Ethical Enterprise Conference, an educational and networking event bringing ethical and social enterprises together to discuss challenges, issues and opportunities facing the sector.

The conference also hosted Moral Fairground’s Early Ethical Entrepreneurs Competition where start-up businesses pitch their ideas to high-profile business people and social entrepreneurs, and in return receive constructive feedback from the judges. The short-listed applicants pitching to the judges on Monday were:

• Kisaku
• Freedom Made
• Clean Travel
• Project Selvage

Fixable.co

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Phillip Vernon

Nominations are now open for enterprises in Australia who do good for people, the planet and animals to be recognised through Moral Fairground’s innovative awards program.

Winners will be announced at an Awards dinner in Melbourne on 16 October to coincide with Moral Fairground’s Ethical Enterprise Conference, an educational and networking event bringing ethical and social enterprises together to discuss challenges, issues and opportunities facing the sector.

Sponsored by Australian Ethical, the Ethical Enterprise Award is open to purpose-driven businesses with an Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian organisations over 18 months old that deliver innovative work with a positive social, environmental or economic impact either locally or internationally.

The winner will receive a cash prize of $10,000 courtesy of Australian Ethical and gain national recognition throughout the business, non-profit and social enterprise sector for their contribution to society, and their unique vision and leadership.

Past winners of the Ethical Enterprise Award include:

• 2014 – Seven Women based in Melbourne, Victoria
• 2015 – Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia based in Turramurra, NSW
• 2016 – Pollinate Energy based in Melbourne, Victoria

Australian Ethical has sponsored the awards since their inception, in line with its strong belief in building and supporting ethical enterprises to continue their work and improve the world we live in.

Commenting on this year’s launch, Australian Ethical Managing Director Phil Vernon said: “The Ethical Enterprise Awards are an important way to recognise leading social enterprises and support them to continue their positive work into the future.

“Australian Ethical is committed to making money do good for clients, shareholders and the planet. We do this through our ethically screened investments, by donating 10% of our post-tax profits to charity, and by sponsoring inspiring organisations like Moral Fairground.”

Anna McGregor, Australian National Manager for Pollinate Energy, said the enterprise used the prize money from last year’s award to buy hundreds of life-changing products for people in the slums of Lucknow, in northern India.

Pollinate was founded in 2012 with a mission to bring solar light to India’s slums by empowering locals, dubbed “pollinators” to set up small businesses to sell the lights to families in their communities. Families pay off the lights in a few weeks with the money they would otherwise spend on fuel for toxic and ineffective kerosene candles. Pollinate is currently operating in five cities and has a mission to be operating in 20 cities by 2020.

Ms McGregor said the prize money allowed Pollinate to pre-purchase solar lights, as well as solar fans, mosquito nets and mobile phones, for its pollinators to sell, and also trial new products such as various models of energy efficient stoves, during the start-up phase of its operations in Lucknow.

“It really filled a funding gap for us and allowed us to get those products out there. Also, because we’ve had this funding support in Lucknow, it meant we were able to be in our fifth city much quicker. We’ve just launched into Kanpur, which is 100 kilometres down the road from where Moral Fairground helped us. So that’s incredible in itself, and essentially that means we are going to reach thousands more people a lot quicker this year,” Ms McGregor said.

As well as having a shot at the prize money, finalists will have access to media, publicity and business development opportunities. This year, prizes include $7,000 for the runner-up. The third prize winner will receive $6,000 of professional business coaching.

Nominations are also open for the Early Ethical Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition, another Moral Fairground initiative, which is open to start-up businesses that have the potential to improve the social, economic and environmental conditions of an overseas or local community.

Shortlisted applicants for the Early Ethical Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition will have the opportunity to present their idea to four business and social entrepreneurial leaders at the Ethical Enterprise Conference on 16-17 October.

Winners will have access to the expertise of mentors like Australian Ethical’s Phil Vernon to help guide them through the nuances of establishing and growing their business.

Last year’s winner was Fruit2Work, a social enterprise startup that creates jobs for former offenders by selling fruit to businesses in Melbourne.

Fruit2Work co-founder Ariel Hersh said exposure associated with participating in the pitch competition helped the startup to find customers and it is now selling around four times as much fruit as it was at the time of the competition late last year.

“It really raised awareness of what we do to a bigger group of people which was great. We are still a very young business and the more people that hear about us, the more opportunities they have to support us through buying fruit,” Mr Hersh said.

Submissions for the Ethical Enterprise Award and the Early Ethical Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition are open until 1 September.

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Phillip Vernon

Leading ethical investment and superannuation provider Australian Ethical Investment Limited (ASX: AEF) has announced it has received an inflow of $128 million from Australian Catholic Superannuation & Retirement Fund into its balanced fund.

Australian Ethical Managing Director Phil Vernon said this significant inflow was further acknowledgement of Australian Ethical Investment’s position as a leading responsible investment funds manager.

“Increasingly, institutional investors are coming to understand that responsible investment should be a key part of their strategy. This is a rapidly growing sector because clients are increasingly demanding that their investments align with their values, so it makes good business sense to offer quality responsible investment choices”, said Mr Vernon.

Australian Catholic Superannuation & Retirement Fund has chosen Australian Ethical Investment’s balanced option, which offers a diversified risk profile that goes across all asset classes. “This option is really suitable for many super members. It’s less risky compared with higher risk equities options that are available,” said Mr Vernon. CEO of Australian Catholic Superannuation & Retirement Fund Greg Cantor said, “Many of our members want to take a strong stance regarding responsible investing. We chose to appoint Australian Ethical to manage our responsible investment option as they are the clear leaders in this area, with a strong team and performance record.”

Australian Ethical has led the charge in responsible investing in Australia for over 31 years. Mr Vernon said, “Australian Catholic Superannuation & Retirement Fund chose us because of our stance on no fossil fuels, their alignment with our broader values, combined with our talented investment team and consistently strong investment performance. We’re looking forward to working with other institutional clients who need a genuine, viable option in the responsible investment market.”

Australian Ethical will announce its full year results on 31 August 2017.

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Phil Vernon

Australian Ethical has opened its community grants program for 2017, encouraging organisations working to deliver tangible benefits for people, the planet, and animals to apply.

Australian Ethical’s grants program is a core part of the company’s purpose to play a leadership role in making the world a better place. Each year the company donates 10%* of its after-tax profits to charitable organisations and social impact initiatives through the Australian Ethical Foundation. Since the grants program began in 2015, the company has donated more than $2 million to organisations both locally and internationally.

Commenting on the opening of the grants program, chief executive officer of Australian Ethical Investment, Phil Vernon said: “The Australian Ethical Investment Charter isn’t simply a guide for screening investments – it drives our commitment to making the world a better place and is the basis of our company culture.

“Our community grants program provides financial support to not-for-profit organisations that contribute to humanitarian, environmental, and animal welfare efforts in Australia and abroad. It delivers on our commitment to make money do good and I strongly encourage all eligible organisations to apply.”

Last year, Australian Ethical awarded $260,000 in grants to 18 charities and social businesses working on Australian and international causes. The recipients were varied and included an indigenous welfare group, marine conservationists, and an organisation protecting women from sex trafficking.

Enterprise Learning Projects (ELP), a social enterprise that supports remote Aboriginal people with exploring, developing, and growing their business ideas, received two $20,000 grants in 2016. These grants assisted with two separate initiatives – one to establish an op shop run by the Tramalla Women’s Group, and another to set up Speargrass Bike Tours, co-created by Indigenous youth in the Katherine region.

Commenting on the impact of the grant, Founder and CEO of ELP, Laura Egan, said; “We’re thrilled to have the Ethical Super community join us in fostering grassroots enterprise in remote Australia. The Aboriginal communities we partner with are bursting to share their stories and their culture with wider Australia and the world. These grants will enable us to support them to do this through the creation of sustainable ventures.”

Organisations can apply online for the grant here. Submissions close on Wednesday 31 May 2017.

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