Koinonia Fund

14 Feb 2010

The Koinonia Fund, which is operated by the Anglican Church Pension Board, ensures members’ contributions are invested in businesses that fit within the fund’s ethical investment policy. Other Kiwisaver schemes do not have such guidelines – or only invest a proportion of their funds in this way. “To invest ethically takes a bit more work and research: that who you invest in meets your guidelines,” explains Bruce Dutton, the board’s superannuation and trusts manager. The fund’s policy is based, in part, on the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment, and covers environmental, social and governance considerations. This means things such as employees’ working conditions and the remuneration packages of executives can be taken into account.

Board member and vicar of Opawa-St Martins, Lawrence Kimberley, says many industries are obvious exclusions – such as the weapons industry, gambling, and pornography – but approving other potential investments can be more difficult. “There are so many grey areas. For example, you decide not to invest in breweries, but what about the supermarkets that sell beer? And you might avoid tobacco companies but end up investing in a retail chain that has cigarettes on its shelves. It’s impossible to be completely pure in these things, but we do the best we can,” he says.

Making the day-to-day investment decisions is a management team based in Wellington. They are assisted by a volunteer-run investment committee made up of legal, business and financial experts with “huge experience” and an “empathy” for the Anglican Church, says Lawrence. Although weighing up ethical and financial considerations can be a fine balancing act, Lawrence says the board’s primary consideration is to ensure members are getting a good financial return on their retirement savings. “As trustees, our first priority is to achieve the best return we can for our members while constraining risk.” He goes on to say that “ethically run businesses have a tendency to perform well. When conditions are better or fairer, workers are often happier and more productive.” This ethos certainly resonates with the meaning behind the Greek word koinonia, which means community and joint participation.

About 1200 people are currently investing in the Koinonia Fund, which is open to all Christians – not just Anglicans. It is particularly aimed at current and past employees of Christian-related organisations and those who are serving their church or committed to Christian outreach.

WORDS: Megan Blakie