Celebrating Investment for the Transition

This award will go to the KiwiSaver provider that can best demonstrate responsible or ethical investment outcomes. Entrants will demonstrate leading practice in avoiding harm from their investments, generating or supporting positive impact, providing strong corporate governance and stewardship, and operating with ethical conduct.

The award is open to registered New Zealand KiwiSaver providers.

This award will go to the investment manager that can best demonstrate effective responsible or ethical investment outcomes. Entrants will demonstrate leading practice in avoiding harm from their investments, generating or supporting positive impact, providing strong corporate governance and stewardship, and operating with ethical conduct.

This category is open to managed investment fund providers, wholesale funds, wealth managers, private equity funds, venture capital funds or other fund managers that can best demonstrate effective responsible or ethical investment practices. The provider must have a substantial presence in New Zealand, including core investment decision-making and staff. Please note that this is a separate category to the Best Ethical KiwiSaver provider award.

This award will go to the fund that can best demonstrate innovation in its investment approach and practice for the benefit of clients, the environment and society.

The fund can be a KiwiSaver fund, retail investment fund, private equity fund, venture fund or impact initiative by an asset owner.  The provider must have a substantial presence in New Zealand including core investment decision-making and staff. The fund must have been launched between March 2024 and May 2025.

Entrants will demonstrate a strong purpose and a clear vision for how their enterprise will create significant impact overall, using examples of specific investments that benefit people or the environment, including aims such as social equity, nature restoration and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. They will have a clear methodology on how they assess their impact, including the additional impact that is attributable to their investment and/or the impact of the company receiving investment.

The applicant must be a New Zealand registered organisation. It can be a wholesale or retail fund provider, a wealth manager, an asset owner (such as trusts and foundations, charities and educational institutions), social enterprise, not-for-profit enterprise, a collaboration or a government entity. The category includes green bond portfolios or programmes (but not a single green bond issue). The initiative will either have made investments or have plans to launch in 2025. Applicants should choose one of the two sections - either as a mainstream investor or a dedicated climate fund.

Organisations entering in this category cannot also enter the dedicated climate fund section of Best Climate Action category or this category. 

This award will go to the entity that can best demonstrate a strong purpose and a clear vision for how their enterprise will reduce emissions and/or build climate resilience, and invest in impactful climate solutions, using examples of specific initiatives. Mainstream funds that are committed to climate action are eligible, as are funds focused on investing in climate solutions.

The applicant must be a New Zealand registered organisation. It can be  a wholesale or retail fund provider, a wealth manager, an asset owner, social enterprise, not-for-profit enterprise, a collaboration or a government entity. The category includes climate bond portfolios or programmes (but not a single climate bond issue). The initiative will either have made investments or have plans to launch in 2025.

Organisations in the  dedicated climate fund section of this category cannot also enter the Best Impact Investment category.

This award will go to the individual financial adviser who can best demonstrate how ethical issues are integrated throughout their client engagement and financial advice. 

The category is open to independent financial advisers, financial advisers within advisory firms, financial advisers within wealth management companies, and other individual financial advisers.  

Please note the criteria for this category have changed. The focus is now on individual financial advisers rather than advisory firms. This is to encourage entries from a range of financial advisers across the sector.

Entrants will show excellence in their media coverage of ethical and impact investment and be able to cite a significant impact on public awareness and understanding of the issues.

This category is open to a broad range of New Zealand media including print, digital, radio, podcast, TV, video and documentary. This category is open to an individual journalist or a team.

This award will go to the best overseas ethical or impact investment fund. Entry is open to funds that are issued in a country other than New Zealand and not registered as a PIE fund or retail fund in New Zealand.  They must be actively marketed in New Zealand and made available to New Zealand investors through distributors, financial advisers, ETFs or platforms. This category is open to overseas ETFs, AUTs and other overseas registered funds.