There is a lack of information when it comes to sustainable investments that is limiting how much people invest in them
There is a lack of information available on how sustainable fund managers are engaging with the companies they invest in
There is a lack of advice more widely available on sustainable investments
I'm not sure which investments take a sustainable approach
I don’t really understand what sustainable investments are
Fund managers can influence companies' approaches to environmental and social issues. People care about a broad range of behaviours
Areas of importance to potential investors on a scale of 1 (not at all important) to 10 (extremely important)
Ending bribery and corruption
Climate change
Pollution from operations/use of renewable energy
Selling unhealthy or addictive products
Treatment of company workforce
Diversity of company's workforce
But many people don’t yet recognise investment decisions as a way in which they can personally contribute to a more sustainable society
Personal contributions to a more sustainable society, undertaken often or always
I reduce or recycle my household waste
I avoid businesses who have a track record of controversies
I buy locally produced goods
I buy from businesses with a good record of social responsibility
I consider my carbon footprint in my transportation and home energy decisions
I buy organic food
I invest in sustainable investment funds rather than those that don't consider sustainable factors
Encouragingly, sustainable investments are becoming more important to people, and the myth that they are bad for returns is abating
say sustainable investing has become more important to them over the past five years
of people feel they are prevented from investing in sustainable investments due to concerns that they wouldn't deliver as good a return as non-sustainable investments
The majority of people say they are investing in some kind of sustainable investment
Of those who are investing in sustainable investments (and know the proportion), the average of their total portfolio being allocated to them is:
Americas
Asia
Europe
Global Average
Those who feel they have a higher level of investment knowledge are more likely to be investing in sustainable investments
People investing in sustainable investments split by self-assessed investment knowledge level
Investing >1% of portfolio
Investing 0%
Don't know
Beginner/Rudimentary
Intermediate
Expert/Advanced
People who feel they have higher levels of investment knowledge are investing more of their total portfolio in sustainable investments and expecting higher returns on their entire portfolio
Proportion of investment portfolio invested in sustainable investments
Total annual return expected on investment portfolio
Beginner/Rudimentary
Intermediate
Expert/Advanced
Would you be investing more in sustainable funds with the right information at hand? Learn more about sustainable investments here.
Schroders commissioned Research Plus Ltd to conduct, between 20th March and 23rd April 2018, an independent online study of over 22,000 people in 30 countries around the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, UAE, the UK and the US. 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.
