Reflecting on the previous version of 2019, it revealed that at that time no one surveyed could picture a future where as much as three quarters or more of an investor’s portfolio would integrate ESG by 2021.
Yet only two years later, nearly a quarter (22 per cent) do just that, and it looks like this is set to grow over the next two years, the survey concludes.
And the enthusiasm for ESG is reflected in the data. According to Morningstar, inflows into sustainable funds in the UK have risen from nearly £4bn in Q2 2020 to more than £6bn in the same quarter, this year.
Performance, of course, remains a key influence on decisions. In its earlier days, there was some scepticism about the performance of ESG funds in comparison with conventional funds, which is now fading, as Justin Wheeler, head of UK asset owner distribution at BlackRock, observes: “Covid-19, for example, debunked any notion that ESG investing comes at the expense of returns, with 94 per cent of sustainable indices outperforming their non-sustainable counterparts in Q1 2020.”
Fiona Nicolson is acting deputy features editor at FTAdviser
