As much as anything else, the importance of this certification programme is to act as outsourced due diligence for advisers and wealth management firms to find products that match their clients’ interests.
But client demand is only one part of what is driving Australia’s rapid uptake. Just as significant is that the smartest investors in our region now understand that the most sustainable companies make the best investments.
The finance sector in Australia is moving quickly to align itself with the desires of Australians. The current Royal Commission will only accelerate this, highlighting the desperate need for finance to reinstate the primacy of the consumer, and to rebuild the trust that it sorely needs to renew, of which responsible investing is a key part.
Simon O'Connor is chief executive of the RIAA
