Are Hong Kong investors more motivated by morals or money?
Schroders’ Global Investor Study 2020 suggests a vast majority of Hong Kong investors are not willing to compromise on their personal beliefs when putting their money to work, even if returns were higher.
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Investing is a personal choice and a number of influences will hold sway over where you put your money. Your personal value system is one such influence and, for most people, this appears to be non-negotiable.
Around three-quarters (73%) of Hong Kong investors refuse to compromise on their personal beliefs when investing, even if higher returns were on offer, new research suggests.
These findings are part of the Schroders Global Investor Study 2020, which canvassed the views of more than 23,000 investors from 32 locations around the world, including 500 of them in Hong Kong, between 30 April and 15 June.
Expert investors are more likely to compromise for higher returns
It seems that the more financially knowledgeable the investor, the more likely they are to be willing to forgo their personal values.
Over one third of Hong Kong investors (37%) who rate their investment knowledge as ‘expert/advanced’ are more likely to invest against their beliefs, whereas ‘beginner/rudimentary’ (20%) and ‘intermediate’ (25%) are less likely to pick higher returns if these came at the expense of their personal beliefs.
Source: Schroders
More investors realising returns don’t have to be sacrificed
Previous studies have revealed that investors are still concerned that they have to sacrifice returns for sustainability.
It’s encouraging to note that this year’s study shows that 40% of Hong Kong investors are attracted to sustainable investments because they believe they’re more likely to offer higher returns.
Source: Schroders
Hannah Simons, Head of Sustainability Strategy, is encouraged by the results overall. She says: “The results of this year’s survey are clear – returns are not the only influence of investment decisions. People want their values reflected in the way they invest. People are increasingly looking to contribute to a more sustainable society through their investments.
“Sustainability does not have to come at the expense of performance and it is promising to see this manifesting more strongly each year in the data.
“Communication is key if investors are to understand what sustainable investing really means and what this looks like in their portfolios, and this is a core focus for us.”
For more on the Schroders Global Investor Study 2020, please visit www.schroders.com.hk/gis.
Schroders commissioned Raconteur to conduct an independent online study of 23,450 people in 32 locations around the world between 30 April and 15 June 2020. This research defines “people” as those who will be investing at least €10,000 (or the equivalent) in the next 12 months and who have made changes to their investments within the last 10 years.
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