Melbourne v Sydney: Which has the most sustainable investors?
Stockspot data has uncovered the top Australian suburbs boasting the greatest percentage of sustainable investors for financial advisers targeting these clients.
Assessing 2,000 of its clients invested in sustainable portfolios, the investment adviser discovered the greatest percentage of sustainable investors fall within the Victorian suburb of Preston.
Preston topped the list with 46 per cent of sustainable investors, followed by NSW’s Glebe and Newtown with 43 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively.
Comparing this to previous Stockspot findings last year, Glebe notably improved from 10th position at 38 per cent in November 2024 to second position, while Newtown similarly rose from ninth spot at 39 per cent to third.
Seven of the top 10 postcodes were located in Sydney, the data found, compared to three last year when Melbourne postcodes held six spots.
“There’s a clear pattern in the data, sustainable investing is gaining traction across many urban and coastal communities,” commented Chris Brycki, chief executive and founder of Stockspot.
“It’s a sign that more Australians are considering how their money is invested, not just the returns.”
According to Stockspot’s updated analysis, the top 10 suburbs for sustainable investing are:
Source: Stockspot, June 2025
Brycki encouraged financial advisers who service clients in these ESG hotspots to ensure investment portfolios strongly align with their personal beliefs if they don’t already.
“For financial advisers in areas like Preston, Brunswick, and Bondi, the message is clear. Clients in these areas don’t just only want performance anymore, they want portfolios that reflect their personal values,” he explained.
“It’s not just young Australians choosing sustainable portfolios anymore. We’re seeing families and older investors making the shift, too. What links them isn’t age, it’s a mindset. They want to invest in line with their beliefs, but they also want it to be easy, low-cost and automated.”
A recent panel at the Responsible Investment Association Australasia’s 2025 conference in Sydney last month urged advisers to lean on specialists to stay informed in a time of widespread misinformation around ESG investing.
Nathan Fradley, independent financial adviser and director of Ethos ESG, said advisers simply “can’t know everything” about investing. Instead, when clients come to them with ESG questions, he said it’s important that they have experts such as fund managers, investment experts, or business development managers who they can contact.
“I’ve said this before, you can’t know everything. That’s kind of the point you’re a financial adviser. Running portfolios is difficult enough, because you should also be following strategy and clients, and adding knowing everything about ESG into the mix is really difficult,” Fradley noted.
AUTHOR
Jasmine Siljic
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