The Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) has released its annual Aotearoa New Zealand Benchmark Report, highlighting the continued growth of responsible investment. Assets under management (AUM) in the report’s research universe rose to $294 billion in 2023, marking a 13% increase from the previous year.

Despite this growth, greenwashing remains a significant challenge for the industry. Concern over greenwashing has become the leading barrier to market expansion, rising sharply from 35% in 2022 to 61% in 2023. Meanwhile, public awareness of responsible investment in New Zealand is improving, with the proportion of Kiwis unfamiliar with the concept dropping from 43% last year to 30% in 2023. Transparency initiatives, such as stewardship reporting, are also on the rise, with 51% of organisations now providing detailed disclosures, up from 40% in 2022.

“The growth of responsible investment in New Zealand reflects greater awareness of ESG issues in investment decisions and heightened scrutiny of how returns are achieved,” said Pip Best, EY Partner for Climate Change and Sustainability Services. “This year’s RIAA benchmark underscores significant progress while highlighting greenwashing as the industry’s most pressing concern.”

Download the full report here.