SuperLife

Ethica Fund

 

Objective

Designed for investors that want a balance between stability of returns and growth of their investment over the long term. Provides exposure to a diverse selection of global companies and income assets that align with our Responsible Investment Policy

We exclude assets that do not meet our socially responsible investment standards, and increase or decrease exposure to companies based on their environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

 

Latest Quarterly Fund Updates

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Fund Facts

Asset Class Multi-asset class
Geographic Focus International
Market Index The market index for the fund is a composite index. It is made up of the indices used to measure the performance of the assets that the fund invests in. The market index return for the fund is calculated using the weighted average annual return of the market indices used to measure the performance of the assets that the fund invests in. This is calculated by multiplying the index return for each asset class by the target asset allocation weights for each asset class
Investment Restrictions
The Ethica Fund integrates environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors as a core part of its investment approach.

Where the fund engages external investment managers, or invests into external funds, we select those who we believe show a superior commitment to ESG in their investment process through evaluation and ongoing monitoring of their performance.
 
Over 60% of the fund’s assets are invested with Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) who are a specialist responsible investment provider. DFA manage The Ethica Fund’s International Equities, Australian Equities, and International Fixed Interest asset classes, and integrate ESG by using the following tools:
 
Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Exclusions
  • The fund excludes companies where a material part of their revenue or activities are in the areas of gambling, tobacco, alcohol, military weapons (including cluster munitions, anti-personnel mines, nuclear explosive devices, personal firearms), adult entertainment, factory farming, palm oil, or coal mining.
  • Materiality thresholds for each area are outlined in our Responsible Investment Policy.
Systematic ESG Screening
  • The fund applies screens to potential investments based on ESG factors. The result of these screens determines whether an investment will:
    • be excluded or have its weighting reduced; OR
    • be held with no adjustment to its weighting; OR
    • be held with an increase to its weighting.
  • One of the primary ESG factors used for screening is an investment’s greenhouse gas emission intensity (GHG). We expect that these screens will result in at least a 50% reduction in the fund’s GHG emissions profile when compared with market benchmarks that do not consider ESG factors.
The Ethica Fund incorporates ESG into its voting by engaging DFA and Glass Lewis as our specialist ESG proxy research and voting advisers who consider diversity, competency, and accountability of the board of directors, and transparency on gender/racial pay gaps, human rights impact reporting and climate change when exercising voting rights. This voting framework does not apply to the New Zealand Fixed Interest or Cash & Cash Equivalents asset classes.

More information on the Ethica Fund, including the use of SRI exclusions, ESG screening, proxy voting advisers and external fund managers, can be found in our Responsible Investment Policy.
 

Fund Value ( 31/01/2024) $63,053,804
Fund Start Date 31 March 2008
Risk Indicator ( 29/12/2023)

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Fund Value ( 31/01/2024) $119,263,127
Fund Start Date 28 October 2016
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Fund Value ( 31/01/2024) $25,640,563
Fund Start Date 4 February 2008
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Fund Value ( 31/01/2024) $6,239,413
Fund Start Date 24 July 2012
Risk Indicator ( 29/12/2023)

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Returns and Fees

31 January 2024
Last month Last year 3 years (p.a.) 5 years (p.a.)
Return
(after deductions for charges and tax)
1.04% 7.98% 2.56% 6.30%
Market Index Return
(reflects no deductions for charges and tax)
1.46% 9.71% 2.83% 6.51%
Fee Amount
Fund Charges (estimate) 0.70% per annum of fund's net value.
Administration fee $30 a year (regardless of the number of investment options you invest in, or the number of times you change investment options). You do not pay the fee if you have all your money invested in the SuperLife Default Fund.
The returns are after tax at the highest prescribed investor rate (PIR) of tax for an individual New Zealand resident. Your tax may be lower. If you are a SuperLife investor, you can log in to see how your investments have performed.
Last month Last year 3 years (p.a.) 5 years (p.a.)
Return
(after deductions for charges and tax)
1.04% 7.94% 2.59% 6.30%
Market Index Return
(reflects no deductions for charges and tax)
1.46% 9.71% 2.83% 6.51%
Fee Amount
Fund Charges (estimate) 0.60% per annum of fund's net value.
Administration fee $12 a year (regardless of the number of investment options you invest in, or the number of times you change investment options).
The returns are after tax at the highest prescribed investor rate (PIR) of tax for an individual New Zealand resident. Your tax may be lower. If you are a SuperLife investor, you can log in to see how your investments have performed.
Last month Last year 3 years (p.a.) 5 years (p.a.)
Return
(after deductions for charges and tax)
1.04% 7.97% 2.61% 6.34%
Market Index Return
(reflects no deductions for charges and tax)
1.46% 9.71% 2.83% 6.51%
Fee Amount
Fund Charges (estimate) 0.70% per annum of fund's net value.
Administration fee $12 a year (regardless of the number of investment options you invest in, or the number of times you change investment options).
Transfer fee You will only be charged this fee if you transfer money from your member account to a KiwiSaver scheme and the transfer is to a KiwiSaver scheme other than the SuperLife KiwiSaver scheme. The fee is $50 for each transfer.
The returns are after tax at the highest prescribed investor rate (PIR) of tax for an individual New Zealand resident. Your tax may be lower. If you are a SuperLife investor, you can log in to see how your investments have performed.
Last month Last year 3 years (p.a.) 5 years (p.a.)
Return
(after deductions for charges and tax)
1.02% 7.82% 2.46% 6.18%
Market Index Return
(reflects no deductions for charges and tax)
1.46% 9.71% 2.83% 6.51%
Fee Amount
Fund Charges (estimate) 0.91% per annum of fund's net value.
Administration fee $60 a year (regardless of the number of investment options you invest in, or the number of times you change investment options).
The returns are after tax at the highest prescribed investor rate (PIR) of tax for an individual New Zealand resident. Your tax may be lower. If you are a SuperLife investor, you can log in to see how your investments have performed.

Asset Class

31 January 2024

Income Current %Target %Range
Cash and cash equivalents 9.53% 8.00% 0-60%
New Zealand fixed interest 11.46% 12.00% 0-30%
International fixed interest 19.59% 20.00% 0-40%
Total 40.58% 40.00%
Growth Current %Target %Range
Australasian equities 14.08% 14.00% 0-40%
International equities 40.71% 40.00% 0-50%
Listed property 4.63% 6.00% 0-20%
Other 0.00% 0.00% 0-15%
Total 59.42% 60.00%

Top 10 Fund Investments

31 January 2024

The managed funds invest in SuperLife's sector and ETF funds, and in directly held financial products. To view the top 10 individual holdings of the underlying funds, download the latest fund update at the top of this page.

NameType%
Dimensional Global Sustainability Trust - NZD Hedged International equities 20.45%
Dimensional Global Sustainability Trust International equities 20.26%
Dimensional Global Bond Sustainability Trust International fixed interest 19.59%
Smartshares NZ Core Equities Fund Australasian equities 9.81%
Smartshares NZ Cash ETF Cash and cash equivalents 6.90%
Smartshares S&P/NZX NZ Government Bond ETF New Zealand fixed interest 5.73%
Smartshares NZ Bond ETF New Zealand fixed interest 5.73%
Dimensional Australian Sustainability Trust Australasian equities 4.28%
ANZ NZD Current Account Cash and cash equivalents 2.63%
Vanguard International Property Securities Index Fund Listed property 1.94%

Geography

31 January 2024
Country%Relative Weighting
United States 39.79%
New Zealand 33.96%
Canada 4.83%
Japan 3.42%
France 3.09%
United Kingdom 2.55%
Austria 1.95%
Germany 1.91%
Australia 1.49%
The Netherlands 1.32%
Switzerland 1.03%
Sweden 0.96%
Denmark 0.68%
Spain 0.51%
Singapore 0.45%
Hong Kong 0.34%
Finland 0.31%
Italy 0.31%
Norway 0.30%
Belgium 0.28%
Ireland 0.16%
Israel 0.12%
China 0.04%
Bermuda 0.03%
Luxembourg 0.02%
Puerto Rico 0.02%
Portugal 0.02%

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