UniSuper’s Global Environmental Opportunities (GEO) option invests in companies selected on the basis of environmental considerations.
Due to the concentrated nature of GEO’s investment universe, its investment returns have been volatile.
UniSuper has been exploring ways to enable GEO to broaden its investment universe. From 28 March 2025, UniSuper will introduce changes to GEO’s investment strategy and parameters. This will enable GEO to invest in a wider range of assets while still continuing to be an environmental themed investment option.
GEO’s investment strategy from 28 March 2025
From 28 March 2025, GEO strategy will be:
To invest in a diversified portfolio of assets, including but not limited to, international and some Australian securities, and infrastructure and private equity assets (which may include development assets), selected on the basis of environmental considerations and the application of some negative screens.
Investment parameters
From 28 March 2025, we will apply the following parameters for the selection of assets held by GEO.
For the listed equities component of GEO:
- The threshold for a listed company’s environmental reported revenue will reduce from 40% to 20%. This means that, to be included in the GEO option, at least 20% of a listed company’s reported revenue must be derived from environmental themes.1
- In addition, the GEO option will aim to ensure that, in aggregate, at least 50% of the weighted average reported revenue from the listed equities component of its investments is derived from environmental themes.
For the infrastructure and private equity component of GEO:
- Infrastructure and private equity assets (which may include development assets) must have business activities that seek to address current and emerging environmental issues and opportunities. An example is renewable energy investments such as wind and solar assets.
We currently apply negative screens (in addition to our fund-wide exclusions) to GEO to limit exposure to investments with exposure to certain sectors. These existing negative screens will continue to apply to GEO. See our How we invest your money document for further information on negative screens.
Investment time frame
Given the historical volatility of GEO, from 28 March 2025 the minimum suggested investment timeframe for GEO will be ten years.
As GEO is a very high risk investment option, it is best suited to members who are comfortable with the value of their investments fluctuating. As a sector option, it is intended to be combined with other UniSuper investment options to build a diversified portfolio. For information on pre-mixed and sector options, please see the ‘Your investment options’ section of the How we invest your money document.
More information
If you have questions about GEO, you can contact us. If you need help setting your investment strategy, please consider seeking licenced financial advice or you can speak to a UniSuper adviser.2
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Things you need to know
1 Examples of environmental themes include, but are not limited to businesses, products, services, infrastructure and technology (including emerging technologies) related to alternative energy, energy efficiency, sustainable water, green building, pollution prevention and sustainable agriculture. Further information can be found in the How we invest your money document.
2 UniSuper Advice is operated by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd ABN 91 006 961 799 (USM), which is licensed to provide financial product advice. USM is also the administrator of the fund UniSuper ABN 91 385 943 850 (UniSuper). UniSuper Limited ABN 54 006 027 121 is the trustee of UniSuper.
UniSuper Advice’s Financial Services Guide is on the website and it provides important information about the financial services that can be provided.We aim to screen the listed equities held in the option every six months based on the revenue they report and rely on data provided by specialist ESG research providers such as MSCI and Bloomberg. There may be cases where a company’s revenue mix changes (e.g. due to merger or demerger activities) and then falls below the revenue thresholds. Where this occurs, we seek to identify this in the next review. This means that from time to time, there may be securities held in the option that fall outside our inclusion requirements due to the timing of our operational controls.
Companies that qualify for GEO do not necessarily have low carbon emissions. GEO may invest in energy companies that generate revenue from a mix of energy types (for example, fossil fuel or renewable energy) provided renewable energy accounts for over 70% of reported revenue.
Sustainable and environmental investing means different things to different people. Different products have different investment criteria. Read our How we invest your money document to find out what sustainable and environmental investing means to us and what our investment options invest in.
Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. The information provided is of a general nature only and does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider the relevant Product disclosure statement and Target market determination and your circumstances before making decisions, because we haven’t. Please consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your personal circumstances and consider a licensed financial adviser before making an investment decision based on the information provided above.