Article in The AgeWe were intrigued by the Announcement from...

Article in The Age

We were intrigued by the Announcement from super fund Australian Ethical Investments on Thursday that it was now a major shareholder in Nuix, and was now the proud owner of a little more than 5 per cent - worth about $13.7 million - of the troubled Aussie tech outfit.CBD asked Australian Ethical how a company under investigation by the corporate regulator over its disclosure obligations, was raided last year by Federal Police pursuing historical insider trading allegations and is being sued in at least two class actions by shareholders alleging they were misled on revenue forecasts ahead of its listing fits the criteria of an ethical investment.Oh, and then there’s the matter of another legal action on the go, this one from former Nuix CEO Eddie Sheehy over up to $183m claim in share proceeds.Shares in the company hit a new low of 86 cents on Thursday, so investors in the original issue in 2020 have done nearly 90 per cent of their dough, so it’s not clear to us why Australian Ethical thinks it’s a winner.The $29 million of members’ money the fund has plunged on Nuix since June last year was worth less than $13.9 million at Thursday lunchtime.An Australian Ethical spokesperson told us the fund considered Nuix to be an ethical investment “because of the positive service it provides through software that is used by...global and local regulatory bodies, law firms and advisory firms.”Newly appointed Nuix CEO Jonathan Rubinsztein remains upbeat - maybe it’s the inspiration he took from a TedX talk he caught in Vancouver in April from Tesla boss Elon Musk - with Rubinsztein telling his troops month that the future was bright for Nuix, in response to a scathing Australian Financial Review article.“We have a good strategy and our success will be based on the execution of our plan, not on our competitors, or journalist’s assessment of our plan,” Rubinsztein wrote in a May 30 all-staffer.There then followed the customary plea for staff to stop leaking to the media, which of course was promptly leaked.They never learn.