Sustainable and responsible investment is flourishing in Europe, according to a Eurosif
study released this week.
“This is an incontrovertible truth whichever strategy one
chooses to look at and whatever definition of SRI one ascribes to,” the study
said. “During a timeframe when European assets under management increased by
3.8%, all of the sustainable and responsible strategies have outpaced this
growth.”
For example, sustainability themed investments rose to 48,090 million euros in 2011, from 25,361 million in 2009, a 38% increase. Similarly, best
in class/positive screen investments rose 46% to 283,206 million euros.
However, the impressive growth figures “mask some
uncomfortable truths,” the study adds. “The European SRI market remains
primarily institutional, and most of the growth in each of the individual
strategies comes from a small number of institutional players investing in new
mandates. The growth in each strategy is not from SRI assets outperforming the
market, nor is it from an inflow of assets from the retail market, but a
conversion of existing investments to one of the strategies.”
The proportion of SRI institutional assets has grown from
92% in 2009 to 94% in 2011.
Eurosif notes that this represents a challenge for the
industry: Why are retail sales not keeping pace with institutional investors
and professional asset managers who are pouring money into SRI? “Clearly,
communication and clarification is needed to make retail investors see the same
value in SRI that professional investors do.”
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