New legislation passed in 2023 requires around 200 large financial institutions, including Fisher Funds, to start reporting on how climate change is currently impacting their funds and how it may impact funds in the future. These reports are known as climate statements.
Why does it matter?
Climate-related disclosures are made on a fund-by-fund basis to help you, our investors, understand the impact of climate change on the future performance of your investments.
These new reporting requirements are intended to provide you with greater visibility of the risks of climate change on your funds, both physical risks, such as the impact of flooding, wildfires and higher temperatures on the businesses your fund invests in, as well as the associated risks to the economy in a low carbon future (sometimes called “transitional risks”) that can impact financial markets.
Mandatory climate-related reporting will also help New Zealand meet its international obligations to achieve the target of net zero emissions by 2050. It will:
ensure the effects of climate change are routinely considered in business, investment, lending and insurance underwriting decisions
help climate reporting organisations better show their responsibility and forward planning in considering climate issues
lead to more efficient allocation of capital, and help smooth the transition to a more sustainable, low emissions economy.
Source: MBIE
What our reports include
Our climate statements must report against Aoteroa New Zealand Climate Standards issued by the External Reporting Board (XRB).
These standards have been developed based on international best practice for climate-related financial reporting, in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The TCFD recommendations are a leading framework for climate-related disclosures internationally, and are structured around four areas that represent core elements of how organisations operate:
governance
strategy
risk management
metrics and targets.
To assess the current impacts of climate change on our funds, we did a climate risk and opportunity assessment for all funds. We looked forward to plausible futures to understand the possible impacts of climate change on our portfolios over short, medium and long terms.
When and where will they be published?
The first climate statements for the funds with a financial year end of 31 March 2024 will be published on our website at the end of July.
Talk to us
If you have any questions about your investment, our team are happy to help. You can email us, chat to us online or call us on 0508 347 473.
