Appetite for environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment is not only increasing but becoming more urgent. This is driven by several factors, which includes retail appetite responding to COVID 19 and environmental concerns, regulations which are cementing benchmarks and transparency, and the longer-term trend of an industry shift to responsible investment.
Olga De Tapia, head of exchange traded fund (ETF) sales at HSBC Asset Management, identifies the different local drivers for ESG investors that explain the high level of ETF investment in ESG products found in 2020 so far.