$60m of NZers' money invested in weapons used in Gaza

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Smoke billows from Israeli strikes in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip in May.
Photo: AFP

*This story has been updated to correct the name of the ethical investment company

About $60 million in New Zealanders’ money is invested in weapons used in the Gaza conflict, new figures show.

An ethical investment charity is calling for fund managers to be more transparent.

Mindful Money has found some KiwiSaver providers have invested in global weapons manufacturers since their share prices started soaring in October 2023, following the Hamas attack on Israel.

Chief executive Barry Coates said most people did not want to invest in weapons, but they did not realise that was where their money was going.

He said providers were chasing short-term profits and were not researching their investments thoroughly.

“That’s traditionally been the way that the finance industry has operated, it’s gone looking for short-term returns but hasn’t looked at the consequences of what it invests in.

“I think what we’re seeing here is a continuation of that, and at the end of the day people’s lives are lost and and people were injured in their thousands in Gaza.”

He said providers needed to tell people if their money was being invested in weapons.

“There needs to be more transparency so that people can understand where their money is being invested. There is some information that the fund managers legally have to provide, but … most of that information is meaningless and doesn’t really tell the public the information.”

Coates said account holders had been vocal on social media about getting out of KiwiSaver funds investing in weapons used in Gaza.

“People are shifting their investments. In some cases, the investment providers are taking a look at the level of public concern and they’re saying ‘oh, we’re going to withdraw our money from those companies’.

“So you know one of the good things for people to do is not only switch their funds, but also to go back to the fund providers and say ‘this is not what I intended my money to be invested in’.”

Mindful Money provides KiwiSaver fund information on its website so account holders can understand where their money is being invested.