Telstra’s share price has been hammered over recent weeks because of uncertainty surrounding its part in the rollout of the National Broadband Network and whether the telecommunications giant will be split up.

But adding to this pressure has been criticism from Telstra’s biggest shareholder, The Future Fund, about the way the company is being run and the makeup of its board. As a result, the Future Fund has been selling down its shareholding in Telstra.

We applaud the transparency of the Future Fund to let the public and markets know its view on major investments in the portfolio. We wish other superannuation and managed funds would be just as forthcoming.

It’s also great to see Westpac publicly revealing it will no longer support high carbon producing industries. Westpac investors have clearly been told of a crucial change in the bank’s corporate values.

Over the years we’ve been agitating for better communication between fund managers and their investors on where and how funds are invested. That standard of communication has improved markedly and investors are far better informed but there is still a way to go.

We’ve also asked that fund managers publicly reveal how they vote during takeover battles and contentious elections of directors. Afterall, it’s our money so we reckon we have a right to know how our representative is using that influence in major corporate issues.

Only a comparatively small number of managers are forthcoming in this area but hopefully more will follow the lead of the Future Fund.

While directors of listed companies have a regulatory obligation to keep their shareholders informed on major issues affecting the group, fund managers seem to have this silly view that their only responsibility is to keep investors informed about performance and fees. They don’t quite get the fact that they work for us. We as investors are the client and fund managers should be reporting to us on a whole range of things they’re doing.

Unfortunately many fund managers will only change under public and investor pressure.

The very public Telstra comments from the Future Fund and Westpac’s guidance shows this issue is heading in the right direction and times are changing.

The community is more holistic in its approach to investing. Sure investors want good returns but they also want to know what a fund manager stands for, the value set they follow and the environmental and ethical standard of their investment portfolio.

Some of the research companies now rate fund managers on their ability to consider sustainability, climate change and other environmental, social and governance.

The attitudes of Australians have changed dramatically over the last decade. Today the values of people and companies are a critical factor. Aussies want to be proud of the values of companies they work for, buy from and invest in.

There is a lot of attitudinal research which shows an employer or supplier’s views on the environment and social responsibility is a major determinant on whether a person works or buys from that company. It’s being driven by the 20-35 year old Gen Ys and their position is influencing the rest of the population.

It’s terrific to see this happening. But equally it’s terrific social responsibility has moved beyond just being a marketing slogan and companies are being assessed on the delivery of their values.

Superannuation funds could start with explaining to investors their internal environmental and employment policies and then maybe explain if any of their investment strategies include supporting companies involved in renewable energy. Or do they include social responsibility issues when they are assessing potential companies to invest our money in.

A superannuation fund’s financial muscle can influence other companies. They get that financial muscle from our money so we are quite within our rights to want to know how that financial muscle is being flexed.

We don’t expect fund managers to poll their investors on every investment decision, but we as their clients have a right to know the stance they take and whether what social values they’ve applied to making the decision.

Technology makes it so easy for fund managers to communicate with their investors to inform them of decisions they take using the power of our money. Websites, Facebook and even Twitter could be used to inform investors of how they’re voting on things like takeovers, directors appointments and salary packages of those companies in their portfolio.

Also, we should have a right to know the salaries and bonuses which the fund managers are paid, just as listed companies have to disclose the remuneration of senior executives. We can then judge whether we’re getting value for money.

returns.