Adam Verwey - Changing the World Through Ethical Investing

In this episode of Change Loves Company, Dominique sits down with Adam Verwey, a pioneer in ethical investment and one of Australia’s most influential voices reshaping how money creates impact. 

For more than two decades, Adam has worked at the intersection of capital, climate, and social justice. As the co-founder of Future Super and an early director of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), Adam helped shift Australia’s $4 trillion superannuation industry towards climate-aware investing and set a new standard for shareholder advocacy in corporate boardrooms. 

Now, as the co-founder of Six, Australia’s first fintech to blend ethical investing with collective activism, Adam is taking things even further. Six empowers everyday investors to align their portfolios with their values and join coordinated shareholder actions that pressure major companies to lift their game on climate, nature, labour rights, and inequality. 

In today’s conversation, Adam and Dominique explore: 

• How a simple switch in his own super fund sparked a 20-year career in ethical finance
• Why young people today have more power than ever to influence corporate behaviour
• The surprising tipping points that have triggered major shifts—from just 14 people coordinating to push a super fund to divest
• How Six works, and why combining investing with activism unlocks a new frontier of impact
• Recent campaigns targeting deforestation, animal welfare, and nature protection—with Woolworths, Webjet, CSL and more
• The role of collective action in building a better future, one shareholder vote at a time

This episode is a powerful reminder that money is a tool, and in the right hands, it can drive change faster and more effectively than most people realise.
 

Transcript

Dominique: Welcome to the Change Loves Company podcast, where I sit down with creatives, fundraisers, social entrepreneurs, artists, and activists — all with one thing in common: they're changing the world for the better through their work.

I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land I'm recording on today, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to elders past, present, and emerging. Always was, always will be.

Adam Verwey has a passion for using capital in a way that seeks to create systemic change on climate change and inequality. In 2014, he co-founded Future Super and also became an early director of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR). Both organizations were built to shake things up for a better future.

Future Super nudged the $4 trillion super industry into taking their members’ concerns about climate risk seriously, and ACCR created the blueprint for shareholder advocacy in Australia’s corporate boardrooms.

Six is Adam’s next big chance to shake things up — Australia’s first fintech to combine activism with investing. Six is a share trading app that makes it easy for ethical investors to invest with their values and gives them the power to influence big companies to do better.

Adam and I spoke about the power of collective action, tipping points, and what’s next for Six.

Adam, welcome to the studio and to Change Loves Company.

Adam Verwey: Yeah, thanks for having me on.

Dominique: Fantastic. I was looking at your LinkedIn profile, and a lot of your jobs in the last few years have had “ethical,” “responsible,” or “sustainable” in the title. Is that something you’ve always done, or how did you get into that space?

Adam Verwey: Yeah, it’s not just a recent thing — it’s pretty much my entire career. I’ve worked in companies in the ethical investment space, specifically about how to incorporate your values and purpose into how you use your money. I was lucky enough to learn about ethical investment at university. I was in the student union, and someone suggested we look into how our superannuation was invested. I checked mine and found that the largest holding in my super fund was BHP — a company I personally didn’t like.

BHP stands for Broken Hill, which is where I’m from. I’ve seen the legacy of lead poisoning and other issues, so I was motivated to switch my super to the only ethical fund available at the time — Australian Ethical Investment, whose head office was across the road from my university. I enjoyed switching my super so much that I applied for a job there, which I got, and that kicked off two decades of working in ethical investment.

Dominique: Amazing. That’s quite young to have an interest in super! Do you think young people today are more aware?

Adam Verwey: A lot more savvy, and it’s a lot easier now. Back then, switching super involved paper forms and posting them. Now, young people can do everything in seconds on an app. Technology has made taking impactful action much easier.

Dominique: Absolutely. I remember starting out and having very little choice over super — your employer decided. And now it’s easier to know where your super is going.

Adam Verwey: Yes, and that’s powerful. Super is one of your biggest assets, and decisions about it can have huge impact. Collectively, Australia’s super is $4 trillion. Even a small fraction, like 7%, could transition the country entirely to renewable energy. That shows the power people have when acting collectively.

Dominique: Do people understand that power?

Adam Verwey: Not always. Many feel powerless, but small actions add up. For example, at Future Super, 14 people switching their super and explaining why to their fund led the CEO to create a sustainable, fossil-fuel-free option and even hire a climate activist. Small, coordinated actions can create major change.

Dominique: And that leads nicely to your current project, Six.

Adam Verwey: Six is Australia’s ethical version of CommSec — a share trading platform for impact investors. It helps people find shares that align with their values and participate in collective action through shareholder resolutions, even for companies they wouldn’t normally invest in. This gives NGOs a tool to escalate advocacy and push companies to act on climate, inequality, and more.

Dominique: Can you give some examples?

Adam Verwey: Sure. Tomorrow, we’re attending Woolworths’ AGM to propose nature-related resolutions, like the Save the Skate campaign, which aims to protect a threatened species in Tasmania affected by salmon farming. We’re also addressing deforestation issues with the Wilderness Society. Other successes include Webjet agreeing to remove cruel animal activities from their site after collaboration with World Animal Protection, and CSL committing to transition away from gas after a resolution.

Dominique: There’s some irony that to influence a company, you sometimes have to be a shareholder. How do you see that working alongside divestment?

Adam Verwey: They sit side by side. Divestment protects your money and reduces a company’s social license. Holding a minimal share allows you to push for change from within. Both approaches pursue the same goal — meaningful action on climate and ethical issues.

Dominique: You’re inviting people to invest in Six now, right?

Adam Verwey: Yes, through an equity crowdfunding campaign. It opens ownership to anyone, not just wealthy investors, and allows users of Six to have a say in the platform’s development.

Dominique: What’s shocking or hopeful about today’s financial world?

Adam Verwey: Some companies, especially large fossil fuel ones, resist even shareholder input, using aggressive tactics to maintain the status quo. But that resistance can signal that change is possible. It’s a last desperate fight, and collective action can tip the balance.

Dominique: You’ve just had a child. Has that changed your outlook?

Adam Verwey: Definitely. Having a child heightens the urgency. I focus on being powerful with every action I can take now to prevent even small increments of climate damage, without being paralyzed by long-term uncertainty.

Dominique: Absolutely. Understanding collective impact makes it less paralyzing and more hopeful.

Adam, it’s been wonderful having you on Change Loves Company. Thanks so much for joining us, and best of luck with Six and the crowdfunding campaign.

Adam Verwey: Thank you very much.