While almost two in three (60 per cent) of investors in the Asia-Pacific region recognise the importance of sustainable investing, 36 per cent worry investing sustainably does not guarantee good returns.
Fidelity International conducted a survey on sustainable investing with over 12,000 respondents across six APAC markets, including Australia, and what it found is that overall APAC investors are becoming increasingly positive towards the concept of sustainable investing.
Namely, 54 per cent of respondents said they wanted to make a positive change in the world, while 56 per cent said they believe investors have the power to change corporate behaviours.
In Australia, the percentage of those who are interested in having their money contribute to a positive change stood at 55 per cent, behind mainland China on 69 per cent and Singapore on 62 per cent.
“Sustainable investing is becoming a mainstream investment theme across the APAC region and we are encouraged to see retail investors’ interest in sustainability continue to grow,” said Jenn-Hui Tan, global head of Stewardship and Sustainable Investing at Fidelity International.
However, respondents did express certain worries, such as the perceived subjective definition of sustainable investment, with almost half noting a clear definition for investment managers to follow is lacking.
In Australia, the number of respondents that felt sustainable investing seems subjective came in at 52 per cent. China, again, emerged as the group leader with the greatest level of concern over the lack of clear guidelines.
“Clearly, there are concerns about how ESG-related financial products are living up to their promises, which the financial services industry needs to address,” Mr Tan said.
While Fidelity has come up with its own mechanisms to deal with these concerns, such as a propriety rating system to guide its sustainability research, Mr Tan noted that “to further address questions of reliability, we believe broader industry collaboration on investor education and fostering a consistent sustainable investing framework will be critical.”
The company’s research also dug into ESG-issues of most interest to investors. Climate change topped the list in all surveyed markets, Fidelity revealed, followed by sustainable consumption and broader social issues.
By 2030, Fidelity aims to halve the carbon footprint of its investment portfolios and achieve net zero emissions across its own corporate operations, and by 2050 plans to reach net zero across all investment portfolios.
