Most investors globally consider ESG issues in their investment processes, said a new survey by the CFA Institute and the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute.
Seventy-three percent of respondents said they factor ESG issues into their investment processes.
Broken out regionally, respondents in the Asia-Pacific region were the most likely to incorporate environmental, social and governance issues into their decision-making, 78%, followed by respondents in Europe, the Middle East and Africa at 74% and the Americas, 59%.
Respondents cited managing investment risk, client/investor demand and ESG performance as a proxy for management quality, as the top reasons they take ESG issues into account. The top ESG factors considered are board accountability, human capital and executive compensation, the survey found.
In other findings, some 57% of respondents reported integrating ESG issues into their whole investment analysis and decision-making process, while 38% use best-in-class positive alignment and 36% use ESG analysis for exclusionary screening.
Also, 61% of respondents believe public companies should report on a cohesive set of sustainability indicators at least annually.
More than 1,300 portfolio managers and investment analysts, all CFA Institute members, were surveyed between May 26 and June 5.
