Has your KiwiSaver fund been funding Putin's war?

Has your KiwiSaver fund been funding Putin's war?

New Zealanders have been deeply concerned that their funds have been invested in Russian government bonds and in Russian companies with ties to the Kremlin. They are rightly outraged at the invasion of Ukraine and the suffering of millions of people.

There has been good reason to be concerned about their investments.

As at the time of the last portfolio review at the end of September 2021, hundreds of KiwiSaver and investment funds were invested in those bonds and companies.

The good news is that now most of the funds have divested.

This website page used to list those investments and has been progressively updated as the funds have divested.

Most of the recent investments have been in index-linked funds. Most indexes have now removed the Russian companies linked to the Putin regime and the funds are divested or in the process of doing so (many transactions have been blocked by the Russian government).

We will check portfolios at the next portfolio update (to end March 2022) to ensure these divestments have taken place.

This should be a wake-up call to combat greenwashing and ESG-washing. It also shows that our voices have power, collectively we can make our money a force for good instead of investing in harm.

Want to make sure you're not funding weapons manufacturing?

While most KiwiSaver funds have now divested from Russia - there are still KiwiSaver funds and Managed funds invested in weapons manufacturing companies.

Have you checked your KiwiSaver or Investment Fund?

CHECK YOUR FUNDS

This should be a wake-up call to combat greenwashing. Mindful Money has launched badges for funds that not only have policies to avoid harm but also walk the talk through their investments. Check out the fossil fuel free funds, weapons free funds and animal cruelty free funds.

The following fund providers have divested from at least one of their funds that contained investments in Russian government bonds or companies aligned with the Putin regime at end September 2021, or they are in the process of divesting:

The following fund providers were not invested in Russian securities aligned with the Putin regime at end September 2021 (only includes fund providers with international securities):

Providing this listing has been a huge task but has resulted in unparalleled transparency about fund holdings.

An earlier version of this page mistakenly included Russian government bonds in the portfolio of an NZ Funds KiwiSaver fund. This was an error and we apologise.