Australian and Asian investment managers are more disposed to the view that socially responsible investment processes will become more mainstream over the next decade, according to a survey conducted by Mercer Investment Consulting.
The survey, which canvassed the views of more than 190 regional investment management organisations, found that the majority expected socially responsible investment (SRI) practices to become mainstream, but that Asian and Australian managers were more positive about this than their North American counterparts.
The survey found that on average, investment managers are becoming more convinced that the adoption of SRI practices and strategies will become commonplace, with 89 per cent predicting that active ownership will be mainstream within 10 years, while 73 per cent believe the incorporation of social and environmental corporate performance indicators will become mainstream within 10 years.
“In the past it was just a small group of organisations that were interested in SRI, but there are a growing number of mainstream investors who believe these issues can have an impact on long-term investment performance, Mercer Investment Consulting, global leader, Tim Gardener said.
However, when looking at regional views the survey found that US managers were most sceptical about SRI with 60 per cent saying they believed that screening and integration of social and environmental factors would never become a mainstream investment practice.
This compared to their Asian and Australian counterparts where 85 per cent predicted that all three SRI-related practices would become mainstream within 10 years.
