According to a recent study from Betterment, an online investing company, investors are expressing considerable interest in ESG investing, but there’s a catch: Many are not familiar with what investing in ESG actually means.
The newly released study showed that many investors are still in the dark about what this much talked-about investing strategy entails. In a survey of 1,000 investors, Betterment revealed that about 35% said they were not interested in seeking out ESG investments, but over half of those (51%) said they had not sought it out because they didn’t understand it.
The Betterment survey also found
- 54% of investors felt unfamiliar with the ESG concept in certain ways
- 26% of the investors do hold an ESG investment
- 46% of investors who haven’t sought out ESG investments are interested in doing so
ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance, and prioritizes socially responsible investing. The category essentially provides a level of accountability for the social responsibility of companies. The United Nations, in partnership with a collection of financial institutions, published a 2005 report stating that companies that are more responsible will also be more financially profitable.
