Bendigo and Adelaide Bank will act as the default cash account provider for the Emerald Wrap, a responsible investment (RI) platform.
“Australian investors and financial advisers are increasingly seeking to make investment decisions that take account of wider societal implications, rather than just investment returns,” Bendigo Wealth senior manager of strategic partners and alliances Diego Del Rosso said.
“By bringing responsible and ethical investment funds together in the one place, the new ethical investment platform will support and encourage this trend.”
Under the arrangement, each account will use the Adelaide Bank Cash Management Account, unless an alternative is selected, when the Emerald Wrap is launched in March 2012.
The Emerald Investment, Super and Pension Wrap will offer investment alternatives, all provided within a consolidated administration service.
“Until now, most advisers offering responsible and ethical investments have had little choice but to use platforms designed by larger institutions, with little to no influence on investment menu and other platform features,” Emerald Club co-founder of wrap distribution Justin Medcalf said.
“This meant that in most cases advisers where unable to access the best of the best RI funds and were forced to use an unsuitable banking option.”
The platform is being deployed through a partnership with Powerwrap, a Melbourne-based independent platform operator.
The new investment platform will give access to managed funds and separately managed account model portfolios that have been certified by industry association the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia.
The wrap has a maximum administration fee of 0.428 per cent for investment and 0.574 per cent for super and pensions.
