More than two-thirds of asset owners globally believe ESG has become more material to investment policy in the past five years, with environmental issues driving materiality, according to Morningstar’s second annual Voice of the Asset Owner Survey.
Yet while the world’s largest institutional investors are highly committed to ESG according to the annual survey conducted by Morningstar Indexes and Morningstar Sustainalytics, a number of factors have constrained their ability to implement ESG strategies in their investment portfolios.
Thomas Kuh – Head of ESG Strategy, Morningstar Indexes, said:
"The second Morningstar Voice of the Asset Owner Survey confirms that institutional investors remain highly committed to integrating ESG factors into their investments, increasing their allocations to ESG strategies. But challenges have continued to grow, particularly around lack of regulatory clarity and the need for better data and resources."
Barriers to pursuing an ESG investment strategy (%)
500 asset owners surveyed globally, respondents asked to select top three
Arnold Gast – ESG Research Director, Sustainalytics, said:
“Our conversations with asset owners tell us that, while ESG is progressing steadily toward greater inclusion in investment portfolios, the progression is not in a straight line. In our most recent global survey, asset owners highlighted a number of growing pain points in ESG implementation.”
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