Covid-19 pandemic shifts investors' focus to the 'S' of ESG

Active ESG funds set to dominate

The coronavirus pandemic has increased the importance of the social aspects of ESG for investors, according to a survey by Berenberg WAM.

Among 112 respondents, who were primarily from the UK and Germany, 47% considered the social ‘S' element of ESG as the most important, followed by 35% selecting environmental factors ('E'), while 18% said governance (‘G') took precedence. The survey found the pandemic had increased the importance of social factors the most, followed by environmental factors. When asked to predict what the most relevant ESG product would be for respondents in five years' time, actively managed ESG strategies emerged as the favourite for 19% of respondents. This was followed by 17% for impact investment...