Winners At The Mindful Money Annual Ethical & Impact Investment Awards 2025
Mindful Money is announcing the winners of the fifth annual Ethical and Impact Investment Awards 2025. These awards celebrate outstanding investors and individuals who have shown strong commitment and expertise in advancing sustainability and impact. These awards have become the standard for excellence in ethical and impact investing.
Mindful Money's Founder and Co-CEO, Barry Coates commented: ' These awards celebrate excellence and a strong commitment to ethical and impact investing. The challenges of our time require re-orienting the flow of capital away from harm towards environmental regeneration, social equity and climate action. Our annual survey of the public shows that consumers are on board. These awards highlight those in the investment community that are leading the transition.'
Best Ethical KiwiSaver Provider (sponsored by Public Trust)
KiwiSaver funds have now grown to over $120 billion. The judges in this category focused on the criteria of avoiding harm, engaging to influence companies, investing for positive outcomes and walking the talk in terms of ethical practices.
Winner: Pathfinder Asset Management
Highly Commended: Generate KiwiSaver
Best New Ethical or Impact Fund
This category is for the fund launched over the past year that best embodies good ethical or impact practices. The judges were looking for innovation, delivering social and environmental benefits and providing New Zealand investors with new types of investment options.
Winner: Community Housing Funding Agency
Highly Commended: Bay of Plenty Housing Equity Fund
Best Net Zero and Climate Action Investor (sponsored by Morningstar Sustainalytics)
This category covers both the mainstream investment that drives financed emissions towards net zero and dedicated funds investing in climate solutions. This year, the judges focused on funds that are innovating and mobilising capital to reduce and avoid emissions.
Winner: Motion Capital
Highly Commended: Climate Venture Capital Fund series
Best Ethical Overseas Fund
This category is open to the overseas funds that are actively marketed in New Zealand, generally available to investors through financial advisers and institutional investors. These funds add scale and diversity to investors, demonstrating high standards of sustainable investing.
Winner: Australian Ethical Australian Shares Fund
Highly Commended: Betashares Global Sustainability Leaders Fund
Best Ethical Financial Adviser
Financial advisers have an important role in providing informed, independent and appropriate advice on ethical and impact investment. They provide New Zealand investors with financial advice that reflects their values and financial aspirations, and those of their family.
Joint winner: Carey Church, Moneyworks
Joint winner: Dr. Rodger Spiller, Money Matters
Highly Commended: Mark Holtom, Ethical Investing NZ
Best Media Reporting on Ethical Investment
This category is for the best journalism about ethical or impact investment. The judges were looking for high standards of journalism, attuned to the interests of their audiences. The judges were looking for evidence of engagement, education and influence.
Winner: Steven Moe, Seeds Podcast
Joint Highly Commended: Susan Edmunds, RNZ
Joint Highly Commended: Joanna Mathers, Informed Media
Best Impact Investor
This category is for investment funds that contribute to positive social and environmental outcomes. The judges were looking for fund providers that demonstrate a strong impact purpose, a rigorous framework for measurement, examples of high impact investments and contributions by the investor to positive outcomes.
Winner: Community Housing Funding Agency
Highly Commended: Soul Capital
Best Ethical Investor
This category includes over $80 billion of funds under management in 548 retail managed funds, as well as private capital, venture capital and asset owner investments. Amongst a wide range of different funds, the judges were looking for providers that demonstrate high ethical standards and outcomes.
Winner: Pathfinder Asset Management
Highly Commended: Harbour Asset Management
David Callanan, Public Trust Corporate Trustee Services GM, says he's proud the organisation is returning as principal sponsor of the main awards for the second year in a row, plus sponsor of the Ethical KiwiSaver Provider award. As the supervisor for 13 KiwiSaver schemes, Public Trust plays a significant role in investment fund oversight.
Callanan says: 'The real value in the Mindful Money Awards is in informing investors – because as we all know, information is power. The Awards celebrate courage, leadership, and the kind of action that turns information into impact. The Mindful Money Awards do a fantastic job for raising awareness about the importance of ethical investing and celebrating excellence in the industry. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists who continue to raise the bar every year.'
Jono Broome, Morningstar Sustainalytics commented that ' The Aotearoa sustainable fund market has continued to stand out from other markets around the world with its astonishing resilience and consistency. Net positive inflows recorded in every quarter of the past three years, including an impressive 2024. Morningstar Sustainalytics is pleased to support Mindful Money in the annual fund awards to acknowledge the best of the New Zealand's ethical funds in 2025.'
Kate Vennell, co-CEO of Mindful Money concluded: 'Well done to our winners, you are helping more Kiwis to invest to create a better world alongside good financial outcomes. Once again the standard of entries was high. We're delighted that judges selected joint winners in some categories. Those who weren't successful should be encouraged by the feedback – all entries had elements of best practice so please try again next year '.
Notes:
Prior to the awards ceremony, Mindful Money hosted a conference focused on the pathways and innovative approaches needed to direct investment toward solutions that address climate and biodiversity challenges. The conference took place on Thursday 5th June at the Maritime Room, Princes Wharf, Auckland CBD. the line-up included:
Keynote Speaker: Rob Campbell, one of New Zealand's most respected professional directors with over 40 years' experience across capital markets and business leadership.
Panel Discussions: The conference will feature two insightful panel discussions:
'Climate Transition: Taking Investment Action on Climate Change': Financing is a barrier to progress on decarbonisation and renewable energy. The panel discussed ways to accelerate the climate transition by scaling up finance flows and reducing finance costs.
'Nature Transition: Shifting Investment From Harming Nature to Regeneration': There is growing interest in nature amongst the investment sector. Action by investors is crucial to halt the loss of habitats and species and to build regeneration on a wider scale. The panel discussed how natural capital can be recognised and supported as a pathway towards healthy, productive and resilient nature.
Facilitated roundtables with the audience identified key initiatives to move forward on the climate transition and nature restoration.
Sponsors:
Sponsors for the conference were: lead sponsor Morningstar Sustainalytics; silver sponsors Stewart Investors and New Zealand Super Fund; sponsorship contributions from Betashares, Craigs Investment Partners, Generate KiwiSaver and Trust Investments Management; and community support from Foundation North and Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation.
Mindful Money has secured generous support for the awards ceremony from: lead sponsors Public Trust and Morningstar Sustainalytics; silver sponsor Stewart Investors; sponsorship contributions from Generate KiwiSaver, Craigs Investment Partners, and Trust Investments Management; and community support from Foundation North and Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation.
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