Wilson Asset Management has joined Pledge 1%, a global corporate philanthropy movement that commits to donating 1% of product, 1% of equity, or 1% of employee time to improve communities around the world.
Speaking at the Nexus Australia Youth Summit in Sydney, Wilson Asset Management chairman Geoff Wilson said the company’s commitment to making a difference involved donating in excess of 1% of profit and 1% of employee time.
“As an investment manager, Wilson Asset Management’s primary purpose is safeguarding the financial futures of the shareholders of our listed investment companies. We are also deeply committed to philanthropy and making a difference to the broader community,” he said.
“We do this in a number of ways. We have a program that allows our employees to spend one day each month working in the non-profit sector, we also provide each of our employees with $10,000 that they donate to charities of their choice each year, and we donate in excess of 1% of our profit annually.”
Wilson said he wanted to encourage the commitment shown by more than 700 companies that have taken the pledge internationally and to advance philanthropy in Australia.
“We are proud to join the Pledge 1% movement and hope that many more Australian companies take the pledge,” he said.
In the past two years Wilson Asset Management has launched two charity-focused listed investment companies, Future Generation Investment Company (FGX) and Future Generation Global Investment Company (FGG). Both companies donate 1% of assets per annum to charities focused on children at risk and youth mental health.
FGG and FGX chief executive officer Louise Walsh said both companies would also commit to Pledge 1%.
“When we launched the Future Generation companies, we hoped that doing so would inspire innovative giving throughout Australia,” Walsh said.
“We are delighted to join international peers such as Salesforce and Atlassian and other outstanding companies that are at the forefront of philanthropy.”
Pledge 1% was established in 2014 by Atlassian, the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado, Rally and Salesforce.org.