Trust Management starts push into financial advice market

Trust Management has spun off its investment operations into its own separate brand, Trust Investments. It is now eyeing the financial adviser market after two decades of serving only institutional clients.

Trust Management has been supporting for-purpose organisations since 2001, but says its $1.6 billion in assets under management had been “overshadowed” by its property and accounting services for charities, community trusts, and iwi. Now, Trust's ethical funds are available to individual investors through financial advisers and wrap platforms for the first time.

“It became evident that our investment offerings deserved their own spotlight,” head of community engagement Mark Longbottom said.

“The value we were delivering wasn’t always clear to the broader market, especially to investors aligned with our purpose but unfamiliar with our full range of services.”

Moving beyond basic screening
The ethical investment space is growing, and Longbottom says the standard approach of screening out sectors like tobacco, fossil fuels or weapons isn’t enough anymore.

Instead, Trust Investments takes the ‘active manager’ approach to ethical investing.

"We carefully choose fund managers, both here in Aotearoa and globally, who understand our values and who are strong on engagement," Longbottom explained.

"By that, I mean managers who don't just vote at AGMs. They engage in a meaningful way that pushes companies to do better, whether that's improving labour practices, reducing emissions, or increasing transparency. It's not just about avoiding harm, but about using capital to drive positive change while still delivering sustainable returns."

Trust Investments says it doesn't see a trade-off between strong returns and the ability to make a social impact either. This balance has been particularly important for its charity clients, as the income generated by growth funds directly supports community services.

Scaling up for adviser growth
Now that the funds are open to the adviser market, Trust Investments has outsourced its back-office systems and simplified its fee structures.

It has also relaunched its ESG International Bond Fund with Nuveen, which targets both companies with strong environmental and social records and bonds that directly finance social and environmental initiatives. Longbottom says the fund's low price point should appeal to advisers.

"There's growing demand for investments that don't just tick ESG boxes but actually contribute to real-world outcomes," Longbottom said.

"We believe that's where ethical investing is heading - away from basic exclusions and towards thoughtful strategies that balance performance and purpose.”