Fossil fuel investments damaging Australians’ retirement savings, research shows

Tom Swann, a researcher at the Australia Institute, says anyone exposed to the fossil fuel energy sector has lost money in the past three years

Investment in fossil fuels is dragging down the returns of Australians' superannuation, with funds that limit or exclude fossil fuels performing above average in 2015.

Balanced investment funds are estimated to have returned about 5.7% on average in the 2015 calendar year, according to preliminary analysis by Chant West, a superannuation research firm. But Future Super, which avoids any investment in fossil fuels, returned 7.04% in its balanced investment option, new figures reveal.