How South Africans can check where their retirement savings are actually going
Most South Africans would not knowingly support activities that might harm the environment, endanger the health of others or violate the rights of workers.
Still, unless you know where your money is going, how can you be sure that it is being spent or invested responsibly? That is a question which the Financial Services Conduct Authority may help retirement fund members answer, says Deirdre Phillips, a partner at law firm Bowmans.
By encouraging funds to make their investment policy statements available to their members, the authority is enabling members to take a more active interest in how and where their retirement savings are being invested, she said.
“By law, every retirement fund registered under the Pension Funds Act, 1956 (PFA) must have an investment policy statement and must, before making any investment and while invested in an asset, consider any factor that may materially affect the long-term, sustainable performance of the asset. These factors include those of an environmental, social or governance (ESG) character.”
Neither of these requirements is new and both have been contained in Regulation 28 of the PFA for many years, said Phillips.
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