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ESG Investing: The Top 5 Drivers, According to Investors

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ESG Investing

ESG Investing

This infographic is available as a poster.

ESG Investing: The Top Five Drivers

Today, environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing has never been more popular, surpassing record levels seen in 2020, according to Google Trends.

By 2025, ESG investing is projected to reach $53 trillion in assets globally—roughly equal to a third of all investment assets under management. It raises an important question: why are people choosing to use an ESG strategy?

To answer this question, the above Markets in a Minute chart from New York Life Investments looks at the top drivers behind ESG investing, based on a survey of 2,800 Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) investment professionals.

What is ESG Investing?

ESG investing refers to assets that are selected according to their environmental, social, and governance factors.

These include everything from carbon intensity and gender representation, to executive pay. Often, these variables are analyzed through sources such as sustainability reports or government data, among others.

Broadly speaking, ESG investing strategies can fall into four main categories:

  • Values & Screening: Determines sectors, companies, and activities that are included or excluded from investment such as fossil fuels. This can also be based on investors’ values.
  • Integration: Identifies the risks and opportunities of ESG factors on companies. Typically more complex than screening approaches.
  • Thematic: Focuses on structural themes in ESG such as women’s leadership or smart cities.
  • Impact: Specific goals are designed to be met, such as companies that are working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Given its rapid rise, here are the most influential reasons why investors—retail and institutional alike—are paying attention to this trend.

The Top 5 Drivers of ESG Investing

Simply put, risk management and client demand were the most prominent factors behind ESG investing in 2020.

Driver of ESG Investing20172020
To help manage investment risks65%64%
Clients/investors demand it45%59%
It's our fiduciary duty36%43%
My firm derives reputational benefits32%41%
To improve financial returnsN/A*35%

Based on a March 2020 survey of 2,800 CFA institute members who were asked: ‘Why do you or your organization take ESG issues into consideration in your investment analysis/decision? (Select all that apply)
*No data available in 2017

Fiduciary duty ranked third highest, impacting the decisions of 43% of investment professionals.

Here, fiduciary duty is when an investment professional acts in the best interest of a client. From Brazil to the U.S., over 500 socially responsible regulations have been enforced globally, including corporate disclosures and pension fund regulations.

Additionally, improving financial returns was a primary reason for 35% of the respondents. In 2020, for example, 22 out of 23 ESG index funds outperformed their comparable non-ESG index.

ESG Investing: Age is Just a Number

Who is investing in ESG?

Across age groups, people were motivated by higher risk-adjusted returns and values to varying degrees. For instance, 42% of investors between 25-34 expected higher risk-adjusted returns from ESG compared to 16% of investors aged 55-64.

At the same time, 47% of investors across all age groups wanted to invest in ESG to express their personal values or focus on companies that were making a positive contribution to society and the climate.

Reason for Investing in ESG25-3435-4445-5455-6465+
To realize higher risk-adjusted returns42%39%18%16%14%
To express personal values or invest in companies with a positive societal/environmental impact44%41%54%50%50%
Both14%19%28%34%35%

Source: CFA (Apr, 2020)

Meanwhile, roughly a quarter of investors said that both higher risk-adjusted returns and sustainable impact underscore their interest in ESG.

Reason for Investing in ESGOverall
To realize higher risk-adjusted returns29%
To express personal values or invest in companies with a positive societal/environmental impact47%
Both24%

Source: CFA (Apr, 2020)

In 2020, 10% of retail investors invested in ESG. By comparison, interest in ESG is much higher. Almost 70% of individual investors expressed interest in these strategies.

Investment in ESGRetail InvestorsInstitutional Investors
Currently invest in ESG10%19%
Show interest in ESG69%76%

Source: CFA (Apr, 2020)

Perhaps one of the most interesting takeaways from this study, however, is the wide gap between interest and investment in ESG. One factor behind this gap could be due to the fact that just 41% of advisors have spoken to clients about ESG investing, research shows.

However, underlying perspectives on performance, demand, and personal preferences show that ESG may further cement its way into not only the investment dialogue, but investors’ portfolios.

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Markets in a Minute

What Were the Top Performing Investment Themes of 2023?

In 2023, several investment themes outperformed the S&P 500 by a wide margin. Here are the top performers—from blockchain to AI.

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The Top Performing Investment Themes in 2023

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

While the S&P 500 rebounded over 24% in 2023, many investment themes soared even higher.

In many ways, the year was defined by breakthrough announcements in AI and the resurgence of Bitcoin. At the same time, investors looked to nuclear energy ETFs thanks to nuclear’s growing role as a low carbon energy source and the war in Ukraine.

This graphic shows the best performing investment themes last year, based on data from Trackinsight.

Blockchain ETFs Lead the Pack

With 82% returns, blockchain ETFs outperformed all other themes in the U.S. due to the sharp rise in the bitcoin price over the year.

These ETFs hold mainly bitcoin mining firms, since ETFs investing directly in bitcoin were not yet approved by regulators in 2023. However, as of January 2024, U.S. regulators have approved 11 spot bitcoin ETFs for trading, which drew in $10 billion in assets in their first 20 days alone.

Below, we show the top performing themes across U.S. ETFs in 2023:

Theme2023 Performance
Blockchain82%
Next Generation Internet80%
Metaverse59%
FinTech54%
Nuclear Energy50%
Cloud Computing49%
AI/Big Data49%
Gig Economy48%
Digital Infrastructure & Connectivity43%

As we can see, next generation internet ETFs—which include companies focused on the internet of things and new payment methods—also boomed.

Meanwhile, nuclear energy ETFs had a banner year as uranium prices hit 15-year highs. Investor optimism for nuclear power is part of a wider trend of reactivating nuclear power plants globally in the push towards decarbonizing the energy supply. In fact, 63 new reactors across countries including Japan, Türkiye, and China are planned for construction amid higher global demand.

With 49% returns, AI and big data ETFs were another top performing investment theme. Driving these returns were companies like chipmaker Nvidia, whose share price jumped by 239% in 2023 thanks to its technology being fundamental to powering AI models.

Top Investment Themes, by Net Flows

Here are the the investment themes that saw the highest net flows over the year:

Theme2023 Net Flows
Robotics & Automation$1,303M
Nuclear Energy$997M
AI/Big Data$987M
Global Infrastructure$734M
Net Zero 2050$716M
Blockchain$357M
Cannabis & Psychedelics$270M
Emerging Markets Consumer Growth$203M

Overall, ETFs focused on robotics and automation saw the greatest net flows amid wider deployment of these technologies across factories, healthcare, and transportation actvities.

The success of AI large language models over the year is another key factor in powering robotics capabilities. For instance, Microsoft is planning to build a robot powered by ChatGPT that provides it with higher context awareness of certain tasks.

Like robotics and automation, AI and big data, along with blockchain ETFs attracted high inflows.

Interestingly, ETFs surrounding emerging markets consumer growth saw strong inflows thanks to an expanding middle class across countries like India and China spurring potential growth opportunities. In 2024, 113 million people are projected to join the global middle class, seen mainly across countries in Asia.

Will Current Trends Continue in 2024?

So far, many of these investment themes have continued to see positive momentum including blockchain and next generation internet ETFs.

In many cases, these investment themes cover broad, underlying trends that have the potential to reshape sectors and industries. Going further, select investment themes have often defined each decade thanks to factors like technological disruption, geopolitics, and the economic environment.

While several factors could impact their performance—such as a global downturn or a second wave of inflation—it remains to be seen if investor demand will carry through the year and beyond.

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Ranked: What People Value Most in a Financial Advisor

Positive reviews and recommendations are some of the least important factors—so what do people look for in a financial advisor?

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A bar chart of what people value in a financial advisor, showing that personalization is related to three of the top four answers.

Ranked: What People Value Most in a Financial Advisor

Are advisors putting their focus where it matters? You might think that positive reviews and recommendations would be a top consideration for people choosing a financial advisor. However, other qualities appear to be much more important.

This graphic uses data from Morningstar’s Voice of the Advisor report to outline what people value most in a financial advisor.

The Qualities Investors Value

Morningstar surveyed 400 people: 100 Caucasian women, 150 women of color, and 150 men of color. The values below show how often people chose an item as most or least important when working with an advisor.

QualityMost ImportantLeast Important
Expertise and knowledge in financial planning and investments60%11%
Personalized financial advice that meets my specific goals and needs54%16%
Ability to understand my risk tolerance and appropriately align my investments47%17%
Specialization in specific financial situations, such as retirement planning45%17%
Ability to communicate complex financial concepts in an understandable way42%22%
Transparent fee structure and pricing for my advisor’s services42%22%
Trust and rapport established during the initial meetings with my advisor36%24%
Ability to incorporate investment options that reflect my values22%41%
Positive online reviews or ratings about my advisor’s services22%46%
Recommendations from friends or family who had a positive experience with my advisor20%47%
Commitment to diversity and inclusion, making me feel comfortable and respected20%47%
Recommendations from other professionals, such as accountants or attorneys19%50%
Shares a similar background or cultural understanding10%68%

Participants were asked the following question: “On each screen, we will show you 3 items to think about when working with a financial advisor. Select which one is most important and which one is the least important of the items. You will see more than one screen and items may appear more than once.”

Enjoying this content? Dive into more insights in the Voice of the Advisor Report:

Report cover titled Four Opportunities to Elevate the Advisor-Client Relationship through Personalization with additional report pages shown. There is also a red button that says Click for exclusive insights.

Even among a survey pool that was mostly people of color, the majority of respondents didn’t think a commitment to diversity or a shared background were important.

Instead, three of the top four factors were related to personalization.

Personalization: A Key Quality in a Financial Advisor

People cared deeply about personalization regardless of gender and race. It was even more important to those with more than $250,000 in assets, suggesting that personalization may become more critical as a person’s portfolio value increases.

Even investors not currently working with an advisor and non-investors noted that personalization would be a top quality they would look for in a financial advisor.

Within personalization, people noted risk management was a very important element. Financial advisors can highlight their ability to tailor financial plans based on each person’s risk tolerance in order to attract clients.

Looking for tips on how to grow your advisory business? Get insights on what investors want, and how other advisors are evolving, in Morningstar’s Voice of the Advisor report.

Report cover titled Four Opportunities to Elevate the Advisor-Client Relationship through Personalization with additional report pages shown. There is also a yellow button that says get the free report now.

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