Insights
An answer to the question we get asked most often

We get asked a lot of questions: 

“Are you communists?” 
“You’re religious fundamentalists, aren’t you?” 

Perhaps because we encourage people to think about more than just themselves when it comes to how they invest their money, we also field some pretty wild accusations: 

“Your terrible sorts of people rippling people off with scams.” (Spelling and grammar commentor’s own). 
“What a load of bulls*#t.” 
“There is no bloody climate emergency and no bloody sea level rise.” 

But by far the most common hesitation people have is this: 

“If I invest ethically, can I make as much money?” 

We understand your reservations. Making money and having good morals can feel contradictory - but it doesn’t have to be. Growing your wealth via investments that support things like renewable energy and address urgent needs like the water crisis, means you can generate personal wealth and contribute to global well-being.  

But allow us to put your mind at ease: 

- Each of our three funds (Balanced, Growth and Conservative) rank in the top four for returns in their category (over the 24 months to 31 July 2021). 
- In just two years our KiwiSaver has grown to over $100 million under management. 
- Our flagship Growth Fund is a massive 6.8% ahead of the growth KiwiSaver category average for that period. Over the last two years it has achieved 18.60% returns per annum. 
- Our Conservative Fund is #1 in its category over the last 12 months to 30 June 2021.* 

So next time you think to yourself “Are the people at Pathfinder religious fundamentalists?” let us take this opportunity to confirm our secular status. And when you wonder “Can I make the same (or better) returns by investing ethically?” we can assure you that, although past performance is no guarantee of future performance, we’ve proven that our ethical investment approach is one of the market leaders in terms of returns.  

Based on some of the accusations thrown our way, we understand ethical investing isn’t for everyone. But for those of you who have wondered about it, but held back because you weren’t sure it could be lucrative, let us ask you a question: Wouldn’t you rather your money fund a more ethical world for all to enjoy, especially if you also get to grow personal wealth as a consequence? 

Explore our ethical investing process here. 
Review our ethical investing document here. 

*All returns sourced from Morningstar for the 12 months to 30 June 2021. 

Image credit: Photo by Thomas Coker on Unsplash