The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has issued three infringement notices to investment manager Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd for alleged greenwashing.

ASIC was concerned that Product Disclosure Statements for the Vanguard International Shares Select Exclusions Index Funds may have been liable to mislead the public by overstating an exclusion, otherwise known as an investment screen, claimed to prevent investment in companies involved in significant tobacco sales.

Enforcement action against greenwashing is a current ASIC priority. Greenwashing is the practice of misrepresenting the extent to which a financial product or investment strategy is environmentally friendly, sustainable or ethical.

Vanguard paid $39,960 in compliance with the infringement notices on 1 December 2022. Payment of an infringement notice is not an admission of guilt or liability. The specific reasons for ASIC’s concerns are set out in the infringement notice which has been published on the Credit and ASIC Act infringements notices register.