Deloitte Releases Report on Future of ESG Investing

In April, Deloitte released a study examining the future of ESG investing and what factors drive investors to these products. The report notes that at the current growth rate, ESG products are likely to represent half of all professionally managed assets globally by 2024. The majority of these product offerings are likely to incorporate ESG-related characteristics into the fund’s investment decision-making process. The report adds that to satisfy regulator concerns, investment managers can conduct a “holistic review of ESG investing related disclosures and implementing related compliance policies consistently throughout the firm.” Additionally, managers may need to rely on third party service providers to aggregate data on ESG metrics in order to verify their stated investment strategy. Understanding the role ESG factors play in the workplace is also important for employee retention. The report notes “By disclosing their firm’s progress toward its sustainability objectives, investment managers may gain increased credibility with its employees, which may help reduce voluntary turnover.”