Karen is Operations Manager for Mindful Money, a charitable social enterprise established in 2018. Mindful Money aims to make money a force for good.

The current focus is on empowering members of the public to choose a KiwiSaver fund and/or investment fund that aligns with their values.

Why do you do what you do? How long have you been doing it?

I am committed to working towards an environmentally sustainable and socially just future, and one of the most effective ways of doing that, is by changing the flow of money.

After all, money makes the world go round!

Finance underpins all the solutions we need to create a future with a resilient economy where we can live in harmony with the planet and provide everyone with what they need to live a healthy, dignified life.

So, when I heard about Mindful Money, I knew I wanted to be involved.

My background is in project management, encompassing both IT and behaviour change, and I thrive on the challenge of small business and start-ups.

I got involved with Mindful Money prior to the launch of the website, in early 2019, and I love the variety of my role – from finance and HR, to project managing the website and presenting to corporates about what we do.

When I graduated with a maths degree 20+ years ago I swore I wouldn’t work in finance, but it’s managed to lure me in through the back door by appealing to my values!

How are you finding current business conditions?

It’s been a year of demonstrating adaptability for us, like so many businesses. With Covid came the market downturn, which put the brakes on anyone wanting to move their KiwiSaver.

Our main source of income, through the referral fees we receive when people switch to one of the ethical funds on our website, dropped rather than growing as projected.

The cautiousness around personal finance has continued even though the markets have bounced back.

Meanwhile, we made the best of the situation and started an online seminar series on ethical investing, which proved popular with an audience in lockdown.

Once they were established, we were able to get corporate sponsorship for the seminars, which has made up for the deficit in fees.

We are in a lucky position of having lean operational costs, as a relatively new charity, and we’ve just had to be patient and wait a little longer to see the growth we had planned for this year.

Where do you see opportunities for your company in the future?

The warming of our climate poses enormous risks to our financial systems. The government has recently announced mandatory reporting on climate risks, providing a basis for transparency and accountability for climate risks, impact and action.

We are in a position to be able to report on carbon exposure for funds, which will become increasingly relevant in this drive for transparency. Acknowledging, managing and eventually eliminating climate-related risk will increasingly become part of every company’s licence to operate, driven by the investment community, and many businesses are still at the very beginning of their journey towards understanding this.

We have already found that the detail we provide around funds has helped fund providers identify and move away from harmful investments, so this will be a further opportunity to influence investment behaviour for good.

Is there assistance you would like to see provided to business in the current circumstances?

I hope we will see the government replicate its world-leading response to managing Covid by demonstrating that, with decisive and well communicated policy, New Zealand can lead the world in responding to global warming, it’s causes and impacts.

Using our recovery spending we can accelerate our transition towards zero carbon and build our resilience to future shocks. All government procurement should be made using a climate lens, with financial support for businesses leading the way.

How do you identify client needs?

Each year we do a survey on public attitudes to responsible investment to identify consumer needs. We work closely with fund providers to assess how we can most effectively help them move towards a responsible investment framework for their funds. And we collaborate with our allies across civil society on shared goals.

What is different about your company as against others in a comparative range of activities?

Our website puts the power of choice into consumers’ hands, enabling them to easily and quickly move their KiwiSaver, or other investments, into ethical funds – and at no cost.

Education is an important piece of this, as many people have their KiwiSaver with their bank and don’t understand that they can change.

Volunteers are essential to the operational running of Mindful Money while we’re in an early growth stage. Across the business, many roles have been performed by volunteers eager to forward the mission of the organisation.

Many of the volunteers have been recent immigrants to New Zealand who needed work experience as a stepping-stone into paid work in their profession, and the organisation provided them with new skills, contacts, confidence and a reference.

ln turn, we have benefited from the rich skills and diversity that they bring to New Zealand.

Favourite book?

I love reading novels, but it’s way too hard to pick a favourite. I’ve just finished Philip Pullman’s “La Belle Sauvage”, which is the prequel to his Dark Materials trilogy and a real page turner. I’m currently reading Ben Elton’s “Two Brothers”, following a Jewish family through 1930s Germany, which is a harrowing read and the similarities to what’s currently happening in the US are terrifying.

My husband has recommended “The Road to Abbadon” by our friend Vincent Heeringa next – possibly a bit too fantastical for me, but as the plot echoes so many of today’s headlines it sounds too interesting to turn down.

Favourite quote?

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that one life has breathed easier because you lived here. This is to have succeeded.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s a good guide for life!

Biggest influence on your path?

Without hesitation, my grandfather, Tom Land. With hard work and vision, he bravely pivoted a 100-year-old successful family electroplating business into an even stronger industrial instrumentation business.

He recognised electroplating was a dying industry and with his skill and tenacity he engineered a change of direction to guarantee its longevity into the 21^st Century.

He always strived to be the best person he could be, whether that was at work or with his family.

When I was in my 20s and not sure of what path to take, he advised me to be patient and trust that the right opportunities would come when I was ready.

He was spot on and he remains an inspiration to me to this day.

About Mindful Money

Currently most KiwiSaver and investment funds invest in companies engaged in pollution and exploitation, with investments in sectors like fossil fuel production, weapons, human rights abuses and animal cruelty.

Meanwhile, Mindful Money’s research shows that 83% of Kiwis expect their KiwiSaver to be invested ethically. The charity raises awareness of this disconnect and makes it easy for New Zealanders to invest in better companies through their website.

Check what you’re investing in at www.mindfulmoney.nz.