US investors lag behind Europe on responsible investing – report

Sofia Karadima
13 June 2018

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An institutional investor survey recently conducted by Aon found that 68% of respondents consider responsible investment (RI) to be important to their organisation, although attitudes vary by region with Europe leading the charge.

The survey found that 47% of Europe-based institutional investors have established an RI policy, including personnel dedicated to responsible investments. However, only 30% of the US investors have such a policy in place.

Climate change is a top concern for investors in the UK (80%), EU/Continental Europe (76%) and Canada (67%). US-based investors prioritise concerns around nationalism (56%) over climate change (48%) when it comes to investment concerns.

Of those implementing an RI initiative, the most popular reason was a belief that incorporation of non-financial environmental, social and governance (ESG) data resulted in better investment decisions.

When asked what would make responsible investing more accessible, the majority of survey respondents cited standardisation and better return-on-investments measures.

Aon's survey received response from 223 institutional investors from around the world—including endowments, foundations, public and corporate pensions and defined benefit plans.