• IIA released its third annual ESG Global Survey of Asset Managers
• Survey questions addressed a broad range of topics concerning the future of ESG investing
• 81% asset managers say ESG has become more or much more of a priority to their investment strategy over the past 12 months
IIA’s Third Annual ESG Survey
The Index Industry Association (IIA) has just released its third annual ESG Global Survey of Asset Managers. In partnership with Opinium Research, the IIA surveyed 300 CIOs, CFOs and portfolio managers from the UK, US, Germany and France. Assets under management for firms surveyed ranged from less than $1 billion to more than $1 trillion US dollars.
ESG Factors and Asset Classes
The survey responses suggest that Environmental factors are being taken into account as well as Social factors when making decisions about investments. A new emphasis on Governance factors is also emerging, driving an expansion in ESG-focused asset classes such as commodities.
Emerging Technologies
Emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Internet of Things and Machine Learning are expected to help improve the timing, depth and predictive content of available data and metrics related to ESG investments.
Increasing Priority for ESG Investing
Asset managers in France, Germany, the UK and US are ramping up their use of ESG factors. Eight in ten (81%) asset managers say ESG has become more (54%) or much more (28%) of a priority to their investment strategy over the past 12 months. It is expected that this trend will continue to increase over time with almost half of portfolios including some form or level of ESG criteria within 2-3 years time , reaching 63% in 10 years’ time .
Conclusion
This survey demonstrates that asset managers continue to prioritize ESG criteria when making investment decisions and highlights their desire for more accurate data regarding these investments. Emerging technology will help provide better insight into how best to invest using these criteria in order maximize returns while taking environmental social and governance issues into consideration.