Markets as mirrors: Millennials and the growth of sustainable investing

Tapping into ESG concerns key to securing investment growth

We are on the cusp of the largest inter-generational transfer of wealth ever experienced, with more than $30trn projected to fall under the control of millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) over the next 20 years in the US alone.

Yet this generation, about to hit their prime spending years, is also acutely aware of the escalating risks that climate change and unsustainable business practises pose to the planet they are inheriting and their spending reflects this. But will we see the values of this environmentally aware generation mirrored in the markets?  If their consumer preferences translate into investor preferences then the market for sustainability funds could be set to expand rapidly. ESG drives outperformance as 'social' focus begins to see gains Millennials are nearly twice as likely to have mad...