Thematic investing offers investors the opportunity to put their money where it matters, and "for many young investors they just can't ignore the realities around them", said Myron Jobson on the latest FTAdviser In Focus fireside chat.
The personal finance campaigner at Interactive Investor said climate change is a reality for many young people who are "increasingly realising they can take a stand with how they invest".
"On our platform we've seen an uptick in inflows to ethical funds and this is related to this trend of 'we need to build towards a greener and more sustainable future'."
Interactive Investor did a survey last year which found 60 per cent of investors are most concerned about the environmental aspect in ESG. Jobson said many young investors on the platform are making an active effort to green their finances and investments.
Clean water is another trend that sticks out, Jobson observed. "One of our bestselling funds among our youngsters, so people aged between 18 and 34-years-old, is the iShares clean energy fund and I suppose it's a clear theme they can access, they know what their fund does, it says it on the label.
"But it's not just a single theme; they like to access broader ESG themes and many are doing so through funds like Baillie Gifford Positive Change, for example."
But there is no denying young investors also find themselves pulled towards short-term phenomena such as meme stocks and cryptoassets, said Jobson. "It's a bit of both."
He added: "[These] propositions have inspired a group of young investors to actually invest, many for the first time."
Jobson said an Interactive Investor survey found 46 per cent of investors said they made their very first investment in cryptocurrency, which he thought was "quite staggering".
"And what's worrying is that many people are using debt, credit cards, or using their student loans to actually make investments into cryptocurrency, which we found completely worrying."
To hear more about how young investors invest and what impact the Ukraine crisis has had on investor behaviour, click on the link above.
carmen.reichman@ft.com
