Bank of New Zealand has developed a responsible investment policy which excludes companies involved in the production of cluster munitions, anti-personnel mines, nuclear weapons and tobacco or tobacco products from its international equity holdings, it said.

Millions more dollars have been invested by a Government superannuation fund in an international palm oil company embroiled in allegations of labour abuse on some of its Indonesian plantations.

The Green Party has called on the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and Government Superannuation Fund - two of the Government's three largest investment funds - to cut ties with Wilmar International after receiving information showing around $7 million is currently invested.

"Build that wall! Build that wall!" Donald Trump supporters chanted at his pre-election rallies, and it looks certain now he will.

It could be good news for KiwiSavers, as some of their money is invested in private contractors currently running security on the 3200 kilometre US border with Mexico.

And at least one US-listed company that appears in some KiwiSaver funds has thrown its hat into the ring for contracts to build Trump's permanent wall.

If implemented, the president's policies could have a profound effect on issues that resonate with a growing number of investors: the environment, social issues and corporate governance.

It's too soon to tell what effect the election of Donald J. Trump to the presidency will have on impact investing. But if implemented, Mr. Trump's policies could have a profound effect on issues near and dear to a growing number of investors: the environment, social issues and corporate governance.

Just over a year ago I started what I thought was a simple idea, to put together some low-cost ethical investment portfolios, readily available online for anyone to invest in. As my focus was low-cost, I thought the best products would come from the wide range of ethical exchange-traded funds (ETFs). By my reckoning there are close to 100 such ETFs globally to choose from, more than enough to construct some well-diversified investment portfolios.

Green Party launches plan to get more low-income Kiwis into their own home

Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei has today launched a progressive ownership plan to provide up to 10,000 new homes for lower-income Kiwis to own, and to empower community housing groups with new financing models to help fix the housing crisis.

The plan was launched at the Habitat for Humanity conference in Rotorua, and builds on the Green Party’s Home for Life policy, which was first launched before the last election.

Bronwyn King, the Australian doctor leading a global push to encourage fund managers to exclude tobacco stocks, said she’s had approaches from six major funds in New Zealand interested in making the shift.

The move follows investor uproar earlier this year after media investigations found New Zealanders had unknowingly invested $152 million in arms manufacturers and big tobacco companies through their KiwiSaver funds, she said.

What’s in your jeans? A rogue’s gallery of unpronounceable chemicals whose effects on humans are suspect.

New Zealand's three largest government investment funds have more than $20 million invested in foreign palm oil companies linked to devastation of Indonesian rainforests.

Groups fighting to save the critical habitats for Sumatran tigers, orangutans and thousands of other threatened animals are appalled and want the funds pulled immediately.

If you like a good David and Goliath story, you’re in luck.

News broke in August that millions of New Zealanders had unwittingly invested in nuclear weapons, landmines and cluster bombs through their KiwiSaver schemes. At the time few people would have picked that within weeks the NZ Herald would be able to report that over 99% of KiwiSaver funds that had been invested in banned weapons have been withdrawn.

The massive, mostly foreign owned banks operating the largest KiwiSaver funds in New Zealand aren’t renowned for being easy to budge on ethical issues. And the global investment companies that sit behind them are even tougher targets. So the quick divestment decisions have been remarkable.