Beats | April 2, 2019

Global sustainable investment assets top $30 trillion

Dennis Price
ImpactAlpha Editor

Dennis Price

ImpactAlpha, March 2 – Casting the widest possible net, the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance charted a 34% increase to more than $30 trillion in sustainably managed assets under management since its last tally in 2016.

The totals, from sustainable investment forums in Europe, the U.S., Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, include $19.8 trillion in assets screen for negative exclusions and $17.5 trillion that integrate environmental, social and governance, or ESG, considerations. Nearly $10 trillion in assets use corporate engagement or shareholder action around sustainability issues. The survey found $444 billion in impact and community investing assets, roughly in line with the new estimate of $502 billion in impact investing assets under management from the Global Impact Investing Network.

  • Jump in Japan. Driven by corporate engagement and shareholder action, sustainable investing assets in Japan quadrupled from 2016 to 2018, growing from just 3% of managed assets to 18%. Japan is the third-largest center for sustainable investing, after Europe (nearly half) and the U.S. (26%).  in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, sustainable investing accounts for more than half of all professionally managed assets,
  • Retail power. The portion of sustainable investments assets held by retail investors climbed to 25% in 2018, up from 20% in 2016.
  • Public tilt. More than half of sustainably invested assets are in public equities. Just 3% are held in private equity or venture capital.