The Trends report counts two main strategies as sustainable investing: ESG incorporation—applying various environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in investment analysis and portfolio selection—and filing shareholder resolutions on ESG issues.
The total US-domiciled assets under management using sustainable investing strategies grew from $12.0 trillion at the start of 2018 to $17.1 trillion at the start of 2020, an increase of 42 percent.
This is 33 percent – or 1 in 3 dollars – of the total US assets under professional management.
The top three specific issues for money managers and their institutional investor clients are climate change/carbon emissions, sustainable natural resources/agriculture and board issues.
From 2018 through the first half of 2020, 149 institutional investors and 56 investment managers controlling $1.98 trillion in AUM led or co-led shareholder resolutions on ESG issues.