Investment Approach

All our investments are made in accordance with the Board’s investment strategy, the requirements of the Borrowing and Investment Powers Act 1987 and the investment guidelines contained in the Prudential Statement issued by the Victorian Treasurer. Sounds serious. And it is. 

The Board has adopted a framework for managing the investment process that involves the use of an external adviser and implementation manager, Victorian Funds Management Corporation (VFMC).

VFMC, on behalf of the Board, has appointed specialist investment managers to manage assets, selected on the basis of various criteria, including their skills. VFMC manages some of the Fund’s assets directly and monitors the performance of the investment managers throughout the year with the assistance of our investment team. 

ESSSuper investment governance, environmental and social responsibility

ESSSuper recognise that environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues have the potential to impact the real returns to our members, especially over the long term. As a result ESSSuper looks to systematically consider, understand and manage the ESG issues that have the potential to impact investment performance.

ESSSuper therefore has an objective to understand and manage ESG issues across all our investments and to promote best practice among the Australian companies in which we do (or may) invest. The Board recognise their responsibility to protect members' rights and interests as the underlying owners of the Fund’s assets.

We attempt to do this in four ways:

• Become signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI)
• Proxy voting at Annual (or Extraordinary) General Meetings of Australian companies 
• Governance Advisory Service (Regnan) via VFMC  
• Foundation Member of Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI)

ESSSuper  has also become a member of the Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC)