Worthstone, an independent B Corp providing sustainable investment research, has published a new report that shows Asset Manager participation in sustainability initiatives is growing quickly but doesn’t always correlate with better outcomes.
Titled “Are Investors Taking (not just Talking) the Initiative?” the report analyses 28 major sustainable investing initiatives and their adoption by over 100 global asset managers offering sustainable funds to UK retail investors.
Key findings include:
- Despite recent high profile withdrawals, participation by Asset Managers is still skyrocketing, indicative of the continued interest in sustainable investing.
- Climate Change initiatives account for nearly half of the initiatives available.
- Analysis of funds managed by signatories of Climate Change initiatives like Climate Action 100+ and Net Zero Asset Managers show below-average carbon footprints.
- Involvement in some initiatives does not correlate with improved sustainable investment outcomes.
- Funds managed by B Corps and Asset Managers adopting the Net Zero Carbon 2030 target score highest on Worthstone’s composite impact rating but adoption by Asset Managers is less than 10% which is the lowest levels of participation across all initiatives.
“There’s been an explosion in sustainable investing initiatives, but participation doesn’t guarantee greater impact,” said Kit Leahy, Lead Analyst at Worthstone. “We encourage investors to look beyond the labels. By tracking the impact of initiatives we’re beginning to unpack which initiatives are correlating with better outcomes…and which aren’t.”
Gavin Francis, CEO and Founder of Worthstone added: “With SDR taking off this year it’s never been more important to assess asset manager engagement in the industry.
SDR is being seen by some as an Asset Manager headache to start with but it’s quickly going to become an Adviser headache if firms don’t look closely at what Asset Managers are doing (rather than what they say they are doing) especially with the introduction of the Anti-Greenwashing rule incoming on the 31st May. Tracking these initiatives over time we can help Advisers by looking beneath the marketing of Asset Managers.
Whilst potentially some asset managers’ involvement in these initiatives is not backed by tangible action, they provide the industry with an opportunity to hold the signatories to account for improvements over time rather than providing an instant fix. It may be the laggards who need these initiatives the most, and evidence of improved outcomes may take some time to filter down.”
The full report (Are Investors Taking the Initiative) is available here.
To find out more about Worthstone’s impact investment rating, visit their website: https://worthstone.co.uk/
Notes to editors –
Worthstone is an independent B Corp. For over a decade, they’ve been helping financial advisers walk the talk. Why? Because done right, impact investment means returns for everyone.
Through their online database, Worthstone’s comprehensive rating system examines all aspects of impact investment giving advisers the full picture so they can make sure their clients’ money is doing exactly what they’d intended.
For more information or to arrange a briefing/interview with Gavin Francis, please contact Gemma De La Rue at gemma.delarue@worthstone.co.uk
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