Aon Survey: Responsible investing growth in interest in Canada
Aon released the results of its 2019 Global Perspectives on Responsible Investing survey, which found an enormous uptick in the importance of responsible investing (RI) among institutional investors across geographies and investor types.
According to the survey of nearly 230 investment professionals globally, 85 percent report responsible investing is at least somewhat important to their organization, up from 68 percent in 2018.
This growth occurred across all institutional investor types, which include corporate pensions, public pensions, endowments and foundations, and defined contribution plans. The increase in those that believe RI is at least somewhat important, by region:
- UK: 87 percent, up from 66 percent in 2018
- United States: 78 percent, up from 57 percent in 2018
- Canada: 78 percent, up from 68 percent in 2018
- Continental Europe: 85 percent, up from 80 percent in 2018
Canadian institutional investors are shifting towards RI
In Canada, where the trend towards regulation governing ESG has admittedly been slower than in Europe, growth in interest and implementation is still quite evident. The percentage of Canadian institutional investors who believe that RI is “very important” to their organization jumped five percentage points in this year’s survey, said Calum Mackenzie, Partner and Head of Investment in Canada, Aon.
“Investment committees have moved ESG up the agenda, and it is increasingly an important part of investment risk considerations for institutions of varying size, background and complexity,” explained Mackenzie. “Having a coherent ESG policy and commitment is becoming just an entry-level requirement for institutional investors. In fact, investors are increasingly asking Aon to look under the hood of their strategies to ensure that ESG is truly integrated into their investment process.”
Key Canadian findings from the 2019 Global Perspectives on Responsible Investing report include:
- Thirty-eight percent of respondents from Canada already have an RI policy.
- Globally, 29 percent of respondents said that the primary motivation for engaging in responsible investing was to impact global issues such as climate change, diversity or social justice, but only eight percent of Canadian investors indicated that global impact was a motivating RI factor.
- In Canada, where the regulatory response has been considerably slower and more tepid than in Europe, only eight percent of respondents indicated regulations were motivating their RI initiatives. Roughly 30 percent of Canadian investors are opting to take a “wait and see” regulatory approach.
- Respondents from Canada were the least likely to have responsible investments of any kind, with 52 percent stating they had no proactive responsible investments in their portfolios.
The 2019 Global Perspectives on Responsible Investing report is available here.