Three quarters of sovereign wealth funds embrace ESG policies

Central bank adoption sits at 47%

Sovereign wealth funds have sharply increased their adoption of ESG policies, with 75% now holding one, up from 47% five years ago, while central bank adoption of ESG policies has been even more dramatic at 47%, up from 11% in 2017.

Invesco's Global Sovereign Asset Management study of 81 sovereign wealth funds and 58 central banks, collectively managing $23trn in assets, found that many sovereign and central bank investors which were previously resistant to ESG have now begun to adopt policies on the issue. However, while 30% of sovereign wealth funds have implemented carbon targets, up from 23% last year, only 16% of central banks have formal carbon targets, with little change since last year. Respondents to the study attributed this to central banks generally following the targets of their governments, restrict...