Future Super, Sydney, received and paid a A$13,320 ($8,933) penalty from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for alleged greenwashing related to a Facebook post.
An infringement notice was issued over a Facebook post made by Future Super in 2019, which ASIC said may have been false or misleading by overstating the positive environmental impact of the fund, according to an ASIC statement on Tuesday.
Future Super had A$400 million in assets at the time of the Facebook post in 2019, according to the statement. Its current assets were not available.
The Facebook post said: "Naysayers don't join together and move nearly $400 million out of fossil fuels," according to the statement.
"In 2019 Future Super published a Facebook post that was missing an important caveat (that it referred to fossil fuel-exposed super funds). Future Super self-reported this to ASIC and paid the infringement as a result on April 27," a spokeswoman confirmed in a written response.
The post was published in May 2019 and was taken down in October 2022.
"This action should send a message to the financial services industry that ASIC is continuing to focus on greenwashing broadly, in statements to the market, disclosure documents, marketing material and on social media. Industry using social media to promote green claims are not immune from ASIC action," ASIC Deputy Chairwoman Sarah Court said in the regulator's statement.
"We expect the industry to be able to stand by their sustainability statements and back these up with evidence," she said.
ASIC has issued over A$150,000 in infringement notices over greenwashing since October.
