Fossil fuels continue to lose popularity with investors as more investment professionals offer fossil-fuel-free portfolio options, according to the First Affirmative Financial Network.
A survey by the network released Thursday shows that the number of investment professionals offering fossil-fuel-free portfolios has jumped from 22 percent two years ago to 42 percent today.
The “SRI Conference 2015 Fossil Fuels Divestment Survey” is being released in advance of the 26th annual SRI Conference on Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing, produced by First Affirmative, which will be held in November in Colorado Springs, Colo.
According to the survey of 510 SRI investment professionals, 73 percent see 2015 as the right time for investors to assess and perhaps alter their investments in fossil fuels, and two-thirds say retail investors want fossil-fuel-free alternatives for investments. In addition, the movement is expanding beyond fossil fuels to anything that adds to greenhouse gas emissions, 47 percent of the respondents say.
The number of respondents indicating that institutional investors are interested in fossil-fuel-free investing rose from 49 percent in 2014 to 61 percent this year.
Growing risks are associated with investing in fossil fuel extraction and manufacturing, according to 77 percent of respondents.
When SRI investors divest themselves of fossil fuel companies, 59 percent said that the places they are most likely to reallocate those investments are to renewable energy companies, while 52 percent said they would reallocate to clean technology companies (56 percent said they would simply proportionately reallocate divestments across the rest of their portfolios). Respondents were allowed to provide multiple answers, the survey says.
“Fossil fuel divestment has become a high priority for many socially conscious investors over the past couple of years,” says First Affirmative President Steve Schueth. “The steady growth in the number of investment professionals offering fossil-fuel-free portfolios indicates that this trend is likely to continue for years to come.”