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... improved performance and talent attraction, according to a new study released by global professional services firm Deloitte and The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
For the study, Deloitte and The Fletcher School surveyed more than 1,000 asset owners, asset managers, and investment advisers, including CEOs, CIOs, Heads of Strategy and other senior investment executives across regions including North America, Europe, and Asia, and also conducted interviews with sustainability and investment leaders, between January and December 2023.
The study found significant growth in the proportion of investors establishing sustainable investment policies, with 79% of investors reporting having a policy in place, up from only 20% 5 years ago. Nearly all other investors report having a “loosely defined ESG investing policy” in place or have plans to develop a sustainable investment policy, with only 1% reporting no plans for a policy.
Despite highly visible anti-ESG campaigns ongoing in the U.S., the survey found that U.S. investors were actually more likely to have sustainable investment policies in place than their global peers, with 83% of professional U.S. investors reporting having ESG investing policies, up from 27% five years ago. European investors lagged their U.S. counterparts slightly, at 75%.
The study asked investors to list the top 3 drivers for integrating sustainability factors into their investment decision-making processes, with the most commonly cited reasons including regulatory requirements (39%), improved financial performance (36%) and stakeholder influence or pressure (34%). Interestingly, U.S. investors, while also reporting regulatory pressure as the most common driver for integrating sustainability factors (39%), were more likely to cite talent retention and attraction as a key driver, at second place at 37%...
more at Deloitte