One-in-five Australians say their adviser does not offer ESG
About one in five Australian individual investors say their financial adviser does not offer environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment options while about the same amount said it would sacrifice their returns, according to research.
The global research from Natixis Investment Managers, which surveyed 8,550 individual investors across 24 countries, 400 of which were from Australia, showed about seven-in-10 Australian Investors were not able to access ESG investment options from their adviser.
About the same number of Australians also said fund managers should be actively engaging with companies they invested in and voting on all shares they owned.
Louise Watson, country head of Natixis Investment Managers Australia and New Zealand, said individual investors were increasingly believing ESG investment decision making should involve financial advisers, fund managers and investors themselves.
“Specifically, from Australian respondents, we heard that there is an expectation for fund managers to vote on all the shares they own and employ active engagement with companies they invest in,” Watson said.
“This is another example of how mainstream ESG has become in investing, and its potential for becoming among the most critical decision points for investments, especially when it comes to ensuring the interests of our clients here.”
Globally, about six-in-10 global investors rejected the idea that companies were only responsible for creating value for their shareholders. And about seven-in-10 investors would be more inclined to invest in funds that demonstrated a better carbon footprint.
According to the research, North America now led the world in ESG adoption and it was no longer a phenomenon driven primarily by millennials, women, wealthy and European investors, as it had become more mainstream.
Following the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), 82% of investors believed companies had a responsibility to address social issues, 4% more than the belief that governments should.
AUTHOR
Liam Cormican
Recommended for you
Ten Cap has announced it will launch its first active ETF on the ASX later this month, expanding retail access to its flagship Australian equities strategy.
Flows into cash and fixed income ETFs rose by 46 per cent in October with investors particularly demonstrating a preference for Australian credit ETFs as they move away from AT1 bank hybrids.
Having identified Australia as a growth market, J.P. Morgan Asset Management has collaborated with Betashares to offer two multi-asset managed portfolios on its Direct platform, the first funds on the platform from an external manager.
First Sentier has announced it will transition the Stewart Investors investment management responsibilities to its affiliate investment team in light of three senior portfolio manager exits.
