Headquartered in Melbourne, Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) focuses on the long-term value of its members’ savings in which it is entrusted to manage, namely through the examination of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of companies. Currently, ACSI has over 30 members consisting of Australian and international asset owners and institutional investors. Among these include AustralianSuper, Retail Employees Superannuation Trust (REST), Aware Super and New Zealand Superannuation Fund, and together they manage over A$1 trillion in assets.

ACSI’s key focus is to assess the ESG issues existing within companies today, to improve the ESG performance of companies in which its members invest in through cooperation and collaboration, to provide long-term value for its members. It does this through three key stages: research, engage and influence. ACSI produces high-quality research which facilitates engagement with companies and policymakers to positively impact their ESG performance. ACSI then engages with the government, financial services policy advocates and regulators to ensure markets emphasise the long-term and thus focus on what best serves the interests of ACSI’s members.

Some of the ESG issues ACSI advocates to improve on are board diversity, corporate governance, climate change, workforce issues and corporate culture. It has introduced various policies to ensure these issues are addressed by companies. For example, with regards to board diversity, and in particular gender diversity, ACSI aims to ensure companies employ a gender-balanced board, such that 40% of board members are women, 40% are men and the remaining 20% unallocated to allow for flexibility for board renewal.

ACSI continues monitoring companies who have not yet met these requirements and other requirements in working towards improving the ESG performance of companies.

Through their work, ACSI aims to improve regulatory frameworks and good corporate practice, and guide institutional investors toward long-term and sustainable finance.

We use our collective impact to influence companies and financial markets in the interests of our members as long-term investors.

As detailed in ACSI’s 2020 annual report (page 26), their main source of funding originates from membership subscription fees. The options for members include full membership, associate membership and international membership to cater to the needs of different members. Additional funding comes from subscription to ACSI’s voting and engagement services.

ACSI’s membership is open to ‘profit-to-members’ superannuation funds and asset managers who primarily manage assets on behalf of profit to members superannuation funds and are committed to ACSI’s beliefs. There are over 30 superannuation fund members. The only asset manager member is IFM Investors. A full list of members can be found on ACSI’s website.