The pandemic has raised investor awareness of the importance of environmental, social and governance considerations, but there remains a significant gap between beliefs and behaviour, a new survey reveals.
The Covid-19 pandemic has made 68 percent of investors in Singapore more aware of ESG considerations, with 62 percent saying that it has prompted them to re-evaluate ways of investing, according to HSBC Asset Management’s new Sustainable Investing survey.
Over 80 percent of investors in Singapore believe in ESG but only 26 percent of their investments consider ESG factors, the survey, conducted in February 2021 among mass affluent and high net worth investors, as well as advisers in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Singapore and the U.K.
Barriers Remain
The shortage of suitable sustainable investment products and limited investment choice are the main barriers to sustainable investing, the survey found.
Some 66 percent of investors in Singapore said they do not want to lose out financially when tackling ESG issues, while 58 percent said that although they would like to do more, they do not know how to approach this as an investor.
To encourage more interest in sustainable investing, Singapore respondents advocated for a wider range of investment vehicles and strategies using ESG (52 percent) and more information on what sustainable investment is and how it works (52 precent).
Future Demand
Patrice Conxicoeur, HSBC Asset Management CEO, Southeast Asia, said that the increase in ESG awareness «can be a signal to future demand.»
«As asset managers, what we need to do to support this is to provide continued investor education, product development and investment strategies that better embed ESG principles to meet investor goals,» Conxicoeur said.
