HUB24, an Australian financial services provider, has partnered with Morningstar and the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) to offer additional Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings on its platform.

The partnership aims to give clients more information about the ESG performance of the platform's investment options. This will help them make better decisions about their investments.

HUB24 has added new functionality to its platform, providing advisers with access to data-driven insights and reporting metrics for selected managed funds and over 350 Australian-listed securities. The new functionality also includes access to ESG ratings, which are provided through Morningstar's Sustainalytics rating system.

The feature includes a system that ranks selected funds and Australian-listed securities on a scale of risk. It also identifies whether a managed fund has been certified by the RIAA. As the demand for responsible investing grows, this new feature will help financial advisers make investment decisions based on their clients' individual preferences and ESG risk profiles.

"There is a growing demand by consumers for transparency around responsible investments," said HUB24 managing director and chief executive Andrew Alcock.

"Our role is to provide solutions that enable advisers to support their clients in meeting their individual investment preferences."

Alcock said that HUB24 is in a "unique position" to help Australians have better financial futures.

"So, by giving clients a wide range of investment options and information on the HUB24 platform, advisers can help their clients make smart investment decisions," he said.

Morningstar managing director Jamie Wickham said the firm is pleased to make its Sustainalytics data available on the HUB24 platform.

"Each of our methodologies gives advisers better visibility over how Australian listed companies and funds manage ESG," he explained.

RIAA chief executive Simon O'Connor outlined its research, which revealed that 64% of Australian consumers expect financial advisers to be knowledgeable about responsible investment options.

"By making RIAA certification available on the HUB24 platform, advisers can learn more and easily find out if a fund has been certified by us and follows the strict operational and disclosure practices needed to meet our responsible investment standard," he said.

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Source: Financial Standard