Three-quarters of US asset managers say their firms now offer sustainable investing strategies, up from 65% in 2016, according to new survey results from Morgan Stanley Institutue for Sustainable Investing and Bloomberg. Eighty-two percent say it is possible to maximize financial returns while investing sustainably, and 89% say sustainable investing is here to stay.
The survey results demonstrate that sustainable investment strategies are now a “strategic imperative,” says Matthew Slovak, head of global sustainable finance at Morgan Stanley.
Most asset managers view sustainable investing as a business-building approach and believe that financial returns and sustainable outcomes can go hand in hand. But to drive future success in the space, asset managers say, companies need more expertise, more precise data, and better reporting.
“As investors increasingly consider sustainability factors across asset classes and investment products, we expect to see a shift toward better data tracking and reporting mechanisms,” says Curtis Ravenel, global head of sustainable business & finance at Bloomberg “This will increase credibility and improve measurement of impact across portfolios.”
Drivers of sustainable investing include:
The Sustainable Signals: Growth and Opportunity in Asset Management survey polled 300 respondents at US asset management firms with at least $50 million in client assets. The survey gathered insights about the growth, direction and future outlook of sustainable investments among asset managers.
Additional insights from the survey:
