Trump presidency pushes Aussies to ethical super fund

The inauguration of President Donald Trump in the US and the heightened volatility and uncertainty that has followed has been a boon for Future Super, the fund says.

Analysis of Future Super's member acquisition data shared with FS Sustainability shows the fund had a surge in new members in the first quarter.

Interestingly, the largest spike in new members came in the third week of January - the same week Trump was inaugurated and commenced his second, non-consecutive term.

In the three months to March end, Future Super had a 24% increase in new members joining. This is compared to the same period for the past three years.

Of the new joiners, 55% identified as male and 45% identified as female, and they were predominantly aged between 23 and 27 years old.

Geographically, the most new joiners were in Melbourne (VIC) and Surfers Paradise (QLD), followed by Blacktown (NSW), Haymarket (NSW), Brunswick (VIC), Sydney (NSW), Caboolture (QLD), Craigieburn (VIC), Truganina (VIC), and Bankstown (NSW).

Since coming to power, the Trump administration has actively moved to scale back US involvement in climate change initiatives, and publicly derided diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, spurring many corporates to abandon their own DEI measures.

In February, Future Super conducted polling with Essential Research, finding that 25% of respondents were more likely to favour ethical investments because of Trump's election. Just 7% said it would make them much less likely to support ethical investments.

"What we know is that our members care about what is happening globally. They want a superannuation fund that actually invests in their future, and they are prepared to move to ensure their values are reflected," Future Super executive director, customer and growth Amanda Chase told FS Sustainability.

"In times of large change, we see consumers take action and this is what Future Super is currently witnessing."

The polling also uncovered an unexpected political consensus, with respondents who identify as Coalition and Greens voters (66%) showing equally strong support for ethical investment practices from their super funds.

Further research revealed older Australians aged 55 and over are leading the charge for ethical superannuation investments, with 65% of this demographic saying they expect their super funds to invest responsibly and ethically.

"This cross-political alignment suggests ethical investing is transcending traditional ideological divisions in Australian finance," Future Super noted.

The 2024 From Values to Riches report from the Responsible Investment Association Australasia shows nearly 90% of Australians expect their super savings and the money in their bank accounts to be invested responsibly.

Seventy-five percent said they would consider switching their super fund to ensure their investments were invested in line with their values.

Their motivation? About 67% said they believe how their money is invested can positively influence Australians' health and wellbeing, while 54% said they think it can influence climate change.

Seventy-six percent want to ensure their money isn't invested in anything that inhibits or violates human rights, either directly or indirectly, and 66% wish to avoid investments that contribute to animal cruelty and 54% want to avoid animal testing for non-medical purposes. Labour rights abuses are also top of mind for Australians, as is avoiding investments that would support armed conflict.

Finally, 65% said they'd be motivated to invest more if they knew their investment decisions were having a positive impact on the world - this is compared to 53% in 2020.