Survey sees uplift in ESG adoption at pension funds

Research by ING Investment Management has found that 75% of investors see environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors as important to the future of investment.

The survey also found that two thirds of pension fund investors already integrate ESG factors into their investment processes, and nearly half said that their appetite for ESG has increased in the last six months. ING IM senior portfolio manager for SRI funds, Hendrik-Jan Boer, commented: “In recent years there has been a shift within the industry towards more responsible investment products. With three quarters of investors believing that the sector is important for the future of the industry, we expect the demand for socially responsible investments to grow further in the coming years, and to become even more commonplace in investors’ portfolios.”

Asked about their motives for using responsible investment criteria, 58% of survey respondents said it was due to a sense of personal responsibility, while 52% said it was standard procedure at their employer to apply ESG criteria to investments. In terms of ESG usage, countries in Western Europe were the most likely to apply ESG criteria, ahead of North America and Australasia.