The countdown is on!

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced the federal election for Saturday 3 May 2025. Political parties, volunteers and advocacy groups are out in force, having conversations about the issues that matter to them.

Making an informed vote is really important. But we also have a range of different tools available to us to shape the world we live in.

We know that money plays a big role in politics – more often than not to the detriment of our democracy. Billionaires and big corporations lobby and donate to influence elections and policies. But SIX is here to remind you that those of us with regular amounts of money can also have influence through ethical investing and shareholder activism.

In this special election edition of How I Invest, the SIX team reflects on some of the big issues we care about – issues that we’ll be taking with us into the polling booths and into our own investment decisions.

‍Remember, what’s right for the SIX team may not be right for you. The information in this blog is general in nature only and not a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any of the companies mentioned.

Climate action is one of the main issues I keep in mind when making decisions for how I vote, shop and invest.

• Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited (ASX:BEN): Bendigo Bank has policies that don’t allow the direct funding of coal, oil and gas. They also do not directly fund projects that drive native forest logging (loss of forests further drives climate change). As well as holding shares in them, I also bank with Bendigo, and when I go into a branch or call the company, I’ll often mention my support for their climate and nature policies so they know there’s community support! ‍
• BetaShares Climate Change Innovation ETF (ASX:ERTH): I was interested in this ETF because of its focus on companies that earn at least 50% of revenue from activities that either avoid or remove greenhouse gas emissions. This draws in companies that are in areas such as water solutions and renewable energy and excludes weapons manufacturers, which is important to me.

When the Labor Government raised the wages of childcare workers, it formed a big step towards their goal of making universal, affordable child care in Australia a reality – one that will only be achieved through a flat daily fee for all parents, and building centres in underserved areas. I don’t have kids but I plan to, and I know that our current system, which is vulnerable to expensive and poor quality operators, should instead support children and working parents to flourish. Check out The Parenthood’s scorecard of each party to see how they stack up!

• I own shares in G8 Education (ASX:GEM), Australia’s largest child care provider and the largest ASX-listed employer to not pay its staff employer funded Paid Parental Leave. SIX and 100 of our users filed a resolution with G8 demanding they introduce a paid parental leave policy. We’re hoping this will be a huge win for its 10,000 staff!

Ever since I began studying health science (I’m now completing my Master of Medical Biotechnology!), I’ve become super passionate about access to good quality healthcare. I’m also interested in the connection between climate change and health, and will be following Doctors for the Environment Australia’s ‘Put Our Health First’ election campaign closely, to inform my vote.

When it comes to my investments, I make sure they stack up against the values I vote, shop, protest, and live for. That’s why I’ve been keeping my eye on companies that are focused on improving quality healthcare for all, while minimising their impact on the planet. At the top of my list:

• Cochlear (ASX:COH): They help people with hearing impairments, and over 44,000 people have a Cochlear acoustic implant. Many healthcare companies don’t put much effort into reducing their climate impacts, but Cochlear has some genuinely strong carbon reduction efforts.
• Polynovo (ASX:PNV): They have some very cool technology which helps people who have suffered from burns. They also have a lot of women in charge and, as research has said, companies with higher numbers of women executives tend to outperform those with only men in charge.

At a time when LGBTQ+ rights are being stripped away around the world, it's important to me to vote for policies and parties that support queer people. Another way I like to support is by investing in companies whose practices or policies have a clear positive impact on the queer community. Some of the companies on my list that I have my eye on are:

• Monash IVF (ASX:MVF) is one of the oldest IVF clinics in Australia. Not only is IVF great for women’s reproductive rights, having good fertility options for LGBTQ+ families is super important.
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) has been supportive of LGBTQ+ inclusion over the years, winning Australian Workplace Equality Index’s (AWEI) ‘Top 20 Employer’ Award in 2016, as well as being a foundational member of Pride In Diversity. They also offer gender affirmation leave which is important for people who need time to take the necessary steps to be themselves!

You don’t often see big business and integrity in the same sentence. Just the same as you don’t often see politicians and integrity in the same sentence either.

Just as political parties can often be seen to govern for the benefit of a small group of stakeholders (i.e. the ones who give them money!), the same can be said for big business who make decisions with just their largest shareholders in mind.

But imagine if big business did actually operate in a different way that required them to consider all their stakeholders, not just their shareholders.

I really like the concept behind B Corporations. In particular, the requirement that certified B Corps need to embed in their company Constitutions the requirement that the Board must consider all their stakeholders in their investment decision making, and demonstrate that they actually do this.

The number of B Corps has exploded in the last few years, and there’s been criticism that some of the companies getting certified don’t quite match people’s expectations of a good company. B Lab, the company behind the B Corp certification, has just updated their requirements in the last week in an attempt to raise the bar on certification, including requirements for climate action and human rights.

• There’s not many B Corps listed on the ASX, but two of the biggest are ethical investment company Australian Ethical Investment (ASX:AEF) and KMD Brands (ASX:KMD), the company behind outdoor clothing company Kathmandu.

(The ethical profile for KMD is coming to the SIX app soon!)