Financial advisers are increasingly seeing ESG products as an opportunity to grow their businesses and forge closer ties with their clients.
A global study, sponsored by Franklin Templeton and conducted by NMG Consulting, shows that advisers are increasingly embracing ESG products through their knowledge of products and allocations across portfolios.
The study, which examined the attitudes of over 800 financial advisers and intermediaries towards responsible investing in 10 major markets across the globe – in EMEA, APAC and North America – found that advisers increasingly accept the value of including ESG criteria in making investment decisions.
In Europe, the research showed that Italy and France are leading the way of countries surveyed, with nine in 10 respondents allocating investments to ESG products (91% and 90% respectively). Looking at SRI or impact-focused products specifically, Swedish financial advisers led the pack with 70% and 68% respectively allocating to these products. That said, UK retail investors are slightly ahead of their continental European peers when investing in ESG products, with 87% of the UK advisers having clients invested in ESG funds, versus 85% as the average across Europe. German retail investors, on the other hand, are in line with European peers, with 84% of advisers saying they have clients investing in ESG products and 62% investing in SRI products (vs. 61% European average).
Julie Moret, Global Head of ESG at Franklin Templeton said, “The growing relevancy of environmental issues linked to climate transition, natural resource scarcity and efficiency is undoubtedly driving greater interest in ESG products and solutions.
“Regulatory pressures are also accelerating these themes. Encouragingly, the study’s findings show that advisers are responding to the increased demand from clients which will help to deepen the industry’s knowledge and innovation in this space.”
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