Most active retail investors expect to see the trend to more environmentally conscious investing to continue in the next few years, according to a new survey from the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing.
It reports that 71% of active individual investors describe themselves as interested in sustainable investing, and 65% believe sustainable investing will become more prevalent over the next five years. The survey also finds that the millennial generation and women are leading the way.
Millennials are the most open to the idea of sustainable investing, it found, compared with generation X and the baby boom generation. They also report being twice as likely to invest in companies or funds that target specific social/environmental outcomes, and divest because of objectionable corporate activity.
Additionally, 76% of women report an interest in sustainable investing, compared to 62% of men. And, it found that female investors are nearly twice as likely as male investors to consider rate of return as well as the impact of their investment when making an investment decision.
“The trajectory for sustainable investing continues to point upward. What used to be a bifurcated decision – one between investing to make money and giving to do good – is increasingly becoming a blended conversation as investors look to harness the power of the capital markets as a force for positive impact,” said Audrey Choi, managing director and CEO of the institute.
“As sustainable business practices and investment options become more important to investors, the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing is working to drive scalable investment solutions that seek to achieve market-rate returns and help address global challenges,” she added.
The survey also found that 72% of active individual investors believe that companies with good environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices can achieve higher profitability and are better long-term investments. Individual investors say that on average 46% of their total portfolio should be invested sustainably.
Yet, at the same time, investors are divided over the perception of sustainability and financial gains as being a trade-off, it said, with 54% seeing it as a trade-off, and 46% that do not.
“The survey shows that the perception of trade-off between profitable and sustainable investments is still a major barrier to the growth of the field — we and others trying to advance sustainable investing at scale have a job to do, demonstrating that it is possible to achieve positive impact and market-rate returns,” said Choi. “Why does this matter? We believe that it is necessary to mobilize private capital at scale to address global challenges.”