While Europe has led the way in early ESG adoption, the rest of the world is catching up, including North America, where 28% now have adopted ESG investing, compared to 22% in Europe and an equal percentage in Asia. Current ESG investment is lowest in Latin American countries, but that is likely to change over time as 62% of investors in the region said they are interested in ESG even if they have not yet made an investment, the survey said.
“Given the focus on global warming and sustainability, it is unsurprising that 41% of investors in ESG see it as a way to help support the environment,” Natixis said. “Only one in five investors believe that investing in ESG means sacrificing investment performance. Investor sentiment has shifted dramatically since 2017, when Natixis Investment Managers found 64% of investor surveyed believed they would need to sacrifice some return potential to have investments that match their personal values.”
At the same time, 53% said the best way to send a message to a company is to sell its stock.
“Increasingly, individual investors believe the ESG investment decision-making process should involve all of the parties in investing, including financial advisors, fund managers and investors themselves,” Dave Goodsell, executive director of Natixis Investment Managers Center for Investor Insight, said in a statement. “This is another example of how mainstream ESG has become in investing, and its potential for becoming among the most critical decision points for investments.”
The report can be found here.