October 15, 2018 – Individual investors around the world are increasingly seeking out responsible investments, wanting their money to be aligned with their values and putting their savings to work building a healthy future, say responsible investment organizations spanning the globe.
October sees a month of global activity to highlight and celebrate the mounting demand for responsible and ethical investment – from individual investors through to large institutions – that is shifting financial markets to align with the great sustainability challenges of our time.
A significant shift is underway in financial markets globally, with more than 25% of all professionally managed investments being committed to responsible investing, according to research conducted by the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance.i
The demand from individual investors is becoming an ever-greater driver of this growth, with more and more clients asking their banks, pension funds, investment managers and financial advisers to align their finances with their own personal values.
In recognition of this, three major markets will be celebrating responsible investment weeks this month to raise awareness and celebrate this growing demand – Good Money Week in the UK, RI Week in Canada, and National Ethical Investment Week in Australia, among a number of other country level activities in Italy, France and Spain.
These weeks will be highlighting how investors play a critical role in shifting the finance sector to drive capital to build a better world whilst delivering strong investment returns.
In Canada, the Responsible Investment Association of Canada will hold Responsible Investment Week from October 22nd to 26th. A 2017 survey revealed that 77% of individual investors in Canada are interested in responsible investing while a staggering 73% know little or nothing about it. In Canada, this is increasingly known as the ‘RI awareness gap.’ “Raising awareness among the investing public is essential to the development and full adoption of responsible investing,” said Dustyn Lanz, CEO of RIA Canada. “We need to close the gap between investor interest and knowledge of RI, and these international campaigns will play an important role in doing that.”
In the UK, UKSIF has just held Good Money Week. Simon Howard, CEO of UKSIF said ”For the first time ever our Good Money Week polling shows that the British are as concerned that their money makes a positive difference, as they are that it makes a return. In every previous year the most popular answer has been ‘It’s all about the money’. Things are changing in the UK and around the world.”
Australia is also seeing a rapid increase in the uptake of responsible investment, and will be celebrating National Ethical Investment Week from October 15-19 with events held across various locations. Recent polling of fund managers found by Responsible Investment Association Australasia found that demand had risen to be one of the top drivers of the growth in responsible investing. 2017 research shows 92% of Australians expect their pensions and other investments to be invested responsibly and ethically.
“The vast majority of Australians want their pensions invested responsibly, such as through investing in companies that build clean energy infrastructure or avoiding investments that can harm communities such as weapons manufacturing, and RIAA is happy to support National Ethical Investment Week” said Simon O’Connor, CEO of RIAA. “As investors, our job is to deliver better outcomes for our clients, which must include consideration of their preferences in ESG and ethical issues. This is an important wake up call for the finance sector, but also presents a great opportunity for investors to achieve deeper engagement with clients.”
Speaking on behalf of the GSIA, Simon Howard of UKSIF said: ”GSIA members know demand is growing worldwide and it is proving to be a significant driver of the uptake of responsible investment. We are delighted to flag global activity by members in this period and we hope that there can be more alignment in the future: the challenges we face are global, let’s meet them together.”
AUSTRALIA
National Ethical Investment Week, 15-19 October
www.ethicaladviserscoop.org/ethical-investment-week.html
CANADA
Responsible Investment (RI) Week, 22-26 October
www.riacanada.ca/riweek18/
UK
Good Money Week
29th September- 5th October
http://goodmoneyweek.com/
CONTACTS
Simon O’Connor, RIAA
Via Carly Hammond
carlyh@responsibleinvestment.org
Simon Howard, UKSIF and GSIA
0207 749 9950
Simon.howard@uksif.org
Nick Buccheri, RIA Canada
+1(416) 461-6042 x5
nick@riacanada.ca
iThe UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association, Responsible Investment association of Canada, and the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia are all members of the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance.
The GSIA is a collaboration of membership-based sustainable investment organizations around the world. The GSIA’s mission is to deepen the impact and visibility of sustainable investment organizations at the global level. Our vision is a world where sustainable investment is integrated into financial systems and the investment chain and where all regions of the world have coverage by vigorous membership based institutions that represent and advance the sustainable investment community.
Our research on the size of the global sustainable investment market is at http://www.gsi-alliance.org/members-resources/trends-report-2016/
