Kiwis are most concerned about their KiwiSaver money being invested in the pornography industry, followed closely by weapons, gambling, and tobacco, new research shows.

And seven out of 10 people want to know their money is being invested ethically, Consumer magazine writes.

“Some are even prepared to accept a slightly lower return as long as their funds are being used for good,” it says.

“The majority said they’d be concerned if their cash was put into ‘sin stocks’, such as gambling or pornography. However, most didn’t know if their fund manager excluded investment in these industries.”

The KiwiSaver Satisfaction Survey released by Consumer shows of those surveyed, 77 per cent were concerned about investment in the pornography industry. This was followed by 73 per cent for weapons, 70 per cent for gambling, and 69 per cent for tobacco. Investment in oil and gas exploration was of least concern, at 47 per cent.

The research on ethical investing follows the storm of controversy in 2016 when media revealed that Kiwis had unwittingly invested $152 million in controversial arms manufacturers and big tobacco companies.

In total, New Zealanders were found to have $102 million invested in tobacco companies, with more than half of this stake made by one fund provider – ANZ, the NZ Herald reported.

There were also “some indications” some providers broke laws around investing in cluster-bomb makers.

After the news broke, most schemes ditched investments in companies making cigarettes, cluster bombs, landmines, and nuclear weapons, Consumer wrote.

Survey data comes from 1531 people questioned in March this year.

Story by Claire Connell

First published 8 June 2018

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