Responsible Investing & Social Responsibility

Plato signed the UNPRI in 2011 after completing significant work in investigating the integration of ESG scores into investment processes in Australia. Plato continues to source new and updated ESG data in order to develop better understanding of the impact of ESG and sustainability issues upon risks and returns in our investment strategies. Plato has also signed up to receive governance issue notifications via the UNPRI clearing house.
To find out more about the UNPRI, please visit their website.

2023 Assessment Report Rating Summary (published December 2023):

• Policy Governance and Strategy – 84% (4 stars)
• Direct – Listed Equity – Active Quantitative – 93% (5 stars)
• Confidence Building Measures – 80% (4 stars)

Plato is an endorser of Advance, a PRI-led collaborative stewardship initiative on human rights and social issues. As an endorser, Plato has publicly signed the Advance investor statement, signalling our support for the objectives and strategy of Advance, to advance human rights and positive outcomes for people through investor stewardship. To find out more about Advance, please visit their website.

Plato is also a member of the Climate Action 100+ group, an investor-led initiative to ensure the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters take necessary action on climate change. To find out more about Climate Action 100+, please visit their website.

Plato is a founding member of ESG Research Australia, which aims to encourage the development and provision of ESG research on listed companies by brokers within Australia.
To find out more about ESG Research Australian, please visit their website.

Plato actively excludes investing in the tobacco industry and is a signatory of the Tobacco-Free Finance Pledge. The pledge encourages tobacco-free finance policies as a fundamental step to sustainability with the ultimate aim of bringing an end to the world’s greatest cause of preventable death.

Dr Bronwyn King AO, Founder and CEO at Tobacco Free Portfolios states: “By becoming a Signatory, Plato Investment Management has demonstrated leadership amongst asset managers, who are increasingly striving to align portfolios with positive impacts on people and the planet.”

Find out more about The Tobacco-Free Finance Pledge here.

Plato are a partner of the Evergreen Responsible Investment Grading Index (ERIG Index), an independent grading system developed by Evergreen Consultants that scores managed funds across the responsible investment spectrum, and compares funds to their sector averages.

Find out more about the ERIG Index.

Plato have offset unavoidable emissions to help achieve carbon neutrality.  We purchase carbon offsets via Greenfleet, a leading Australian not-for-profit environmental organisation. Our partnership helps further Greenfleet reforestation projects, planting more native biodiverse forests to capture carbon emissions, protect our climate, enhance soil and water quality, and restore habitat for native wildlife.

Find out more about Greenfleet.

Plato actively votes proxies and engages with companies on significant issues such as Woodside’s aborted selective share buyback (paper available on request).

In 2021 Plato Investment Management provided a submission to the Federal Treasury consultation process into “Greater transparency of proxy advice”.  Our position, which was commonly expressed amongst the other stakeholders, was that the licensing and rules in place at the time were appropriate and that it did not see a need for additional regulation. We were pleased to see the outcome in the Australian senate on 10-Feb-2022, where the proposed changes were effectively voted down.

For more details on Plato’s proxy voting, designed to act in the best interest of its clients as shareholders, please read Plato’s Proxy Voting Policy.

• Assessing executive remuneration: Does performance Pay? (2011)
• Implementing ESG tilts in an Australian equity portfolio (2011) paper available on request
• Implementing Carbon reduction in an Australian equity portfolio (2015) paper available on request
• Carbon reduction in Australian Equity Portfolios (2020)
• Evidence of climate transition policies on stock performance (2021)
• Plato’s Responsible Investment Policy
• Plato’s Climate Policy

Funding cutting edge medical research aimed at finding treatments and cures for children’s genetic diseases.

Based at Westmead in Sydney, CMRI undertakes world-leading research to improve children’s health. As Australia’s first medical research facility dedicated to children, CMRI has been helping to save the lives of children for over 60 years. The award winning, independent Institute has built an international reputation for high impact research dedicated to tackling the leading causes of death in children: cancer, congenital disorders (birth defects), and genetic diseases.

Together with the PNI Foundation, Plato has supported CMRI since 2017. Funds have contributed to key upgrades to one of CMRI’s research facilities, purchased important new equipment and supported research projects to improve treatment of aggressive cancers.

Founded in 2021, the National Emerging Art Prize (NEAP) was established to provide a highly visible national platform to identify, promote and support the most promising emerging visual and ceramic artists in Australia. Plato has supported the Plato Prize for an Emerging First Nations Artist since 2023. The prize exists to not only offer a robust and highly visible platform to showcase First Nations artists in the emerging stages of their career, but also to furnish the winner with a cash prize to further support their practice, and to provide a pathway to a long-term art career and representation.

In 2023, the inaugural Plato Prize for an Emerging First Nations Artist was awarded to Muluymuluy Wirrpanda, for her bark painting Bol’pu pictured below.

Plato proudly supports women in finance scholarships across several leading city and regionally based universities.

With the aim of encouraging more women to join the financial services industry, Plato sponsors three scholarships each year for women studying finance and also offers internships to these scholarship winners.

Plato takes pride in ensuring graduates undertake real world work experience from day one, with exposure to highly qualified staff members to maximise their potential and career development.

Pictured: (Left) 2020 winner Phoebe Little in Brisbane with Dr Don Hamson. (Right) 2019 scholarship winner Victora Ng in Sydney with Dr Don Hamson and Dr Peter Gardner.

Read our Intern Interviews, see previous Scholarship Winners and more