Source: Radio New Zealand
Responsible investment platform Mindful Money said investments in companies with exposure to human rights abuses rose 43 percent in the past six months. RNZ / Quin Tauetau
Responsible investment platform Mindful Money warns that KiwiSaver investors are increasingly exposed to human rights abuses – but one KiwiSaver manager says the list of companies to avoid is becoming too long to be realistic.
Over the past six months, Mindful Money said investments in companies with exposure to human rights abuses rose 43 percent, reaching more than $3.5 billion. This has been fuelled by both an increase in the number of companies identified as violating human rights and increased investment in those companies.
It said public surveys consistently showed that avoiding human rights abuses was the No.1 concern for KiwiSaver members.
“These findings highlight a growing gap between what New Zealanders want from their investments in terms of human rights and where their money is actually going,” said Mindful Money founder Barry Coates.
In recent years, attention has increasingly focused on the activities of major technology companies, particularly around surveillance, social media harms and their use in conflict situations, he said. Companies identified as raising human rights concerns included Meta, Tesla, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Palantir Technologies.
“KiwiSaver providers need stronger policies to screen out companies linked to serious human rights harms,” Coates said. “New Zealanders deserve confidence that their retirement savings are not contributing to exploitation or conflict.”
Concerns have also grown over investments in companies linked to the conflict in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine. KiwiSaver investments in companies providing weapons, surveillance technology or other support linked to these conflicts increased 14 percent between March and September 2025, reaching $856 million.
Companies receiving increased investment during this period included IBM, Booking Holdings, Palantir Technologies, Motorola Solutions and Caterpillar, but Koura founder Rupert Carlyon said the bar was too high.
“We look at a company like Caterpillar, which is on their list of human rights issues, because they supply machinery into Israel.
“It’s also a company that does a huge amount of good in other parts of the world – it’s extremely hard to measure.”
He said clients were most concerned about returns and fees.
“My very strong view is actually, if you really want to make a difference, then you’re going to make much more of an impact, if you don’t support them as a customer than as an investor.
“Airbnb… you’re going to stop investing in Airbnb, because you think there are human rights issues? Does that mean that, you know what, we’re never going to use Airbnb ever again?”
Pathfinder Asset Management founder John Berry said his KiwiSaver funds avoided those companies.
“Based on the approach taken by Mindful Money, they are taking a values-based approach to human rights and other issues, and I think it’s entirely appropriate,” he said. “They disclose their methodology and the approach they’re taking, and they give the managers the opportunity to respond.
“I think that’s a really well-developed and well-thought-out approach.
“I think it’s good that there’s a range of options for, you know, some fund managers may focus primarily on just making money. Other fund managers, like Pathfinder, focus on putting a values-based lens, really strong values-based lens over our investing.”
He said individuals and fund managers should make their own decisions about what they were comfortable with.
“I think the starting point with thinking about human rights, and thinking about it from a fund-manager perspective and an investor perspective, is to think about what is your mission with investing.
“There are two sides to it. One is you can consider human rights from a values-based perspective, that you care for people, planet, animals and you want to sleep at night with your investments.
“The other side is you believe that companies that comply with human rights will deliver better long-term returns, because they will be trusted, they’re good corporate citizens and they will have stronger reputations, so they’ll be financially better.
“I actually believe both those things are true.”
Coates said avoiding problematic companies would likely be more effective than trying to change them.
“These are major global corporations and New Zealand investors have only a small share of their capital,” Coates said. “It is unlikely that fund managers sending letters or voting a few shares will change their practices.
“If companies are linked to human rights violations, fund providers should respect the wishes of their clients and avoid investing in them.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
