Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: A majority (55%) of Americans are more likely to invest in sustainable funds for their more attractive return profile, according to the annual Schroders Global Investor Study.
The survey, of more than 23,000 investors globally, including 2,000 in the U.S., found that only 4% cited they will not invest in sustainable funds due to a perception of inferior returns, down from 27% in 2018.
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being extremely important, the two key factors that ranked the highest for American investors surveyed were social responsibility at 7.69 and employee treatment at 7.63.
While climate change is still high on the agenda, social issues, particularly human capital management and the treatment of workers are at the top of American's concerns regarding corporate behavior.
Sarah Bratton Hughes, head of sustainability, North America for Schroders, said that 2020 marked a turning point for interest in sustainable investing across generations.
"While we have long-believed that systematically integrating sustainable investment principles into our investment process will lead to better long-term risk-adjusted returns, 2020 has proven a turning point that the evidence is increasingly clear that investing sustainably could lead to better long-term outcomes," Sarah said.
Communication and education are key to adoption, Schroders said. Just two years ago, 57% of Americans cited that they lacked adequate information around su...................... To view our full article Click here
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