Responsible investment survey
Investment Investment strategy Responsible investment and stewardship Investment manager research ESGInvestment managers have put more effort into their responsible investment practices over the two years since our previous survey - but is this effort being focused in the right areas?
We believe investment managers still need to step up their responsible investment activities
There is clear evidence that on average managers have put more effort into their responsible investment (RI) practices over the two years since our previous survey. But they should not just be doing more of the same.
RI activity needs to be more focused on driving changes that are going to have positive impacts for their clients’ portfolios over the longer term.
This necessitates managers looking at the bigger picture and focusing on actions that are going to be positive in the real world, not just on paper.
What did we find in our 2024 survey?
- Although more managers are now working towards net zero than in our last survey, many managers believe it is more likely we will have a disorderly or failed transition than an orderly transition.
- Managers have reported a general increase in board oversight and resourcing for RI, however only 25% of managers have mandatory RI training for board members.
- There has been a rise in the number of managers adopting formal escalation policies and exercising independent voting decisions, but the results suggest that engagement activity is not as proactive or targeted as it should be.
- While there is evidence that managers engage with policymakers and regulators to some extent, it is often sporadic and most managers do not appear to be focused enough on addressing systemic financial risks.
We can help you engage with your existing fund managers, assess their RI credentials, and select managers that better align with your RI needs
Get in touchExplore the survey reports
For our seventh RI survey of investment managers, we have analysed the responses of 119 managers and produced reports with our main findings for each of four key areas:
ESG foundations
This report assesses the important foundations an investment manager needs in order to support its responsible investment activities, including their motivations, investment in people, training, oversight and analytical rigour.
Climate change
We look into how managers are developing their firmwide approach to addressing climate change, including their net zero approach, reporting of metrics and addressing associated nature-related and social risks.
Stewardship
We explore how managers are evolving their stewardship approach in a transforming landscape, including their engagement, voting and collaborative approaches.
Systemic stewardship
We delve into how managers are engaging with policymakers and regulators on industry-wide topics and whether they are sufficiently focused on reducing systemic risk.
Some of our key findings from managers
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Board level oversight is high and improved
81%have someone at board level with responsibility for oversight of ESG and/or stewardship (up from 67% in 2022) -
Board member training is disappointing
25%have mandatory RI training for board members (compared to 74% for mandatory staff training) -
More managers are committing to net zero
69%are working towards net zero for some assets (up from 59% in 2022) -
Managers indicate low expectations of good climate outcome
26%believe that an orderly transition that keeps temperature rises below 2°C is the most likely outcome -
Objectives for engagement are lacking
48%routinely take the initial step of setting objectives for engagement -
Improvement in policies for escalation
65%have a formal escalation policy for engagement (up from 58% in 2022) -
Poor governance of policy position alignment with trade associations
21%do not review consistency of policy positions of their trade associations with their own policy positions -
Lack of action to drive systemic change
16%engage frequently with policymakers on market-wide topics and systemic issues -
Insufficient focus on real economy changes
Less than 6%frequently engage on sustainable finance and real economy policies as part of their policy advocacy
These statistics are based on the investment managers who responded to the relevant question. 119 managers completed out 2024 survey between April-June 2024, whilst 146 investment managers completed our 2022 survey between August-September 2021.
