I had a fantastic opportunity to attend the RIAA conference 2026 on Tuesday 22 September.

This was the first time I attended the yearly event, and I was curious to hear what is currently driving the responsible investment conversation. A few themes stood out.

• Energy remains at a critical junction: renewable generation is a fundamental enabler for many future investment opportunities in New Zealand. While fossil fuels still play a role in managing the dry year risk, advances in batteries and geothermal technologies offer a pathway to reduce and eventually phase out this dependency.
• Investment maturity continues to evolve. Responsible investment is no longer just about values-based screening. Increasing attention is being given to scenario analysis and longer-term value creation.
• Context matters: discussions around asset classification, product end use and sectors such as mining highlighted the complexity of assessing positive and negative impacts. Some activities may create environmental or social challenges, while simultaneously enabling broader economic and sustainability outcomes.
• Bipartisan support for modern slavery legislation was lauded across the room, and led to a valuable discussion on supplier engagement. Similar to stewardship with high-emitting investees, active engagement is often viewed as a more effective path to change than divestment.
• AI governance is entering the conversation. As organisations increasingly adopt AI, responsible investors are becoming more interested in how AI is governed, and especially what effective accountability looks like in practice.

A great crowd, gathered from more than just New Zealand.

My key takeaway: responsible investment continues to move away from simple classifications and towards understanding real world outcomes, trade-offs and accountability. The growing interest in AI governance suggests this shift is beginning to extend beyond environmental and social issues into how organisations govern emerging technologies.