Wells Fargo

Investors Want More Information on Sustainable Investing - Seite 2

Investor optimism was at 20-year high before COVID-19 correction

At the time of the survey, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was consistently above 29,000 following the release of the government’s upbeat employment report in early February. This was before the start of the market downturn triggered by mounting concerns over the spread of COVID-19. As such, the Wells Fargo/Gallup Investor and Retirement Optimism Index had soared to 138 in Q1 from 84 in Q4-2019, reaching its highest level since Q1-2000.

Sustainable investing appeals to half of investors

When presented with the full definition of sustainable investing, 52% of U.S. investors say they are very or somewhat interested in it, while nearly half are not too (29%) or not at all (18%) interested. On average, investors say they would ideally allocate a sizeable portion – 26% – of their investment portfolio to sustainable investing.

Additionally, two-thirds of employed investors say they would definitely (28%) or probably (41%) include sustainable funds as part of their 401(k) if their employer offered them. More than four in 10 employed investors (44%) say they would view their employer more positively if they made sustainable investing funds available in their plan’s investment options.

“These findings clearly show that investors are hungry for both information about sustainable investing as well as investment options that reflect their personal preferences,” said Hannah Skeates, global head of Sustainable Investing at Wells Fargo Asset Management. “This should serve as a wake-up call for the industry to do a better job of providing sustainable investing resources and vehicles to investors.”

In fact, investors are already inclined to believe that sustainable investing funds perform well, with 69% believing they perform on par with the market average, far exceeding the 24% who think they perform worse. Another 7% believe they perform above par.

Environmental risk may be more tangible to the nearly six in 10 investors (58%) who say they have personally experienced an extreme weather event (unusually severe temperatures, storms, drought, fires etc.) in the past few years. However, investors report giving more thought to how climate change may affect the performance of their investments than to how their investments may affect the environment. Specifically, 51% say they have given a lot or a fair amount of thought to the effect climate change will have on their investment returns in such sectors as energy, agriculture and real estate. By contrast, 40% report giving the same level of thought to the environmental record or impact of companies when making investments.