Last year, responsible investment assets under management jumped by 32% to more than €1,860 billion. A point highlighted by the French Association of Financial Management in its latest press release.
For the third consecutive year, the French Association of Financial Management (AFG) is publishing statistics on responsible investment, in collaboration with the Forum for Responsible Investment (FIR). Management companies are becoming increasingly involved in the development and promotion of sustainable finance. 74 of them (leading €3,606bn) responded to the 2019 survey. The results of the third edition,” said Thomas Valli, AFG’s director of economic studies, and Cyril Greco, an economist, “confirm the constant progression of responsible investment in asset management and the positive evolution of the weight of SRI funds within responsible investment. »
On a like-for-like basis, SRI outstandings increased by 32% in one year and those of the other ESG approaches grew by 21%. At the end of the past financial year, responsible investment assets under management totalled €1,861 billion (€1,458 billion at the end of 2018), including €546 billion for SRI and €1,315 billion for other ESG approaches, mainly implemented in theme, integration, commitment, solidarity and impact investing funds. The total (equity, money market, bond, diversified and unlisted funds) is split between mandates or dedicated funds, for two-thirds, illustrating the institutional predominance, and open-ended funds, for one-third. Thanks to the growing number of savings product distribution channels and employee savings schemes, the share of retail investors in the outstandings of collective investment schemes playing the responsible investment card should continue to grow.
A positive signal
In a market that will see a global outflow in 2019, the experts of the industry association continue, the positive net flows of SRI funds amount to €33 billion: €28 billion for positive selection strategies (best in class, best in universe, best effort) and €5 billion for thematic strategies. “SRI and ESG assets under management account for 15% and 36% respectively of assets under management in France. In connection with the distribution of labels, 60% of assets under management and of the number of SRI funds now publish performance indicators on the environmental, social, governance and human rights pillars. Companies also measure their ESG impacts through the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The monitoring of controversies involving companies is gradually being extended to all assets under management. There has also been a sharp increase in exit strategies from the coal sector (75% of assets under management) and unconventional fossil strategies (50% of assets under management). Green bond assets, whose investments are being shifted towards projects with a positive impact on the climate or the environment, totalled €43.1 billion (for the portfolio management companies that responded to the survey). »
The president of the FIR, Alexis Masse, points out that, in the current context of health, economic and social crisis, the increase in socially responsible investment “constitutes a positive signal that commits to do more to build a more ecological and more solidarity-based development model”. At the end of March 2020, 395 funds had received the SRI Label, totalling assets under management of more than €150 billion managed by 65 companies. 44 funds managed by 17 companies have been awarded the Greenfin Label, with total assets under management of €13 billion. At the European level, this trend is being reinforced with the implementation of the European Commission’s action plan on sustainable finance.
Source: Gestion de Fortune.com, by Michel Lemosof
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