Canadian investment managers had $2.1 trillion in assets using responsible investment strategies as of Dec. 31, 2017, a major jump from $1.5 trillion at the end of 2015, according to a new survey by the Responsible Investment Association.
Indeed, responsible investing accounts for more than half (51 per cent) of Canadian assets under management, noted the survey. “Surpassing the 50 per cent threshold marks a major milestone in the history and development of responsible investing in Canada,” said Dustyn Lanz, chief executive officer of the association, in a press release.
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“Investors in Canada and around the world increasingly recognize that a company is more than just the numbers, and incorporating [environmental, social and governance] factors into investment decisions can help to identify resilient, well-managed companies that outperform over the long term.”
Among responsible investment strategies being used in Canada, the most popular are ESG factor integrations, shareholder engagement, norms-based screening and negative screening. The survey also found that the top reasons managers integrate ESG factors are managing risk, improving returns over time, meeting demands from clients and beneficiaries and fulfilling fiduciary duty.
Institutional investors owned the majority ($1.7 trillion) of assets in the survey, compared to assets managed on behalf of individual investors ($435.7 billion). The majority (87 per cent) of institutional investors said they expect investments in responsible strategies will increase over the next two years.
With these results in mind, how dedicated is your organization to responsible investment? Have your say in our online poll here.
The previous poll asked whether employers should help employees with tuition reimbursements and offer other educational-related benefits. The majority (84 per cent) of respondents said yes, 16 per cent said n
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