Use of sustainable-investing strategies in U.S. assets increases 38%

More than a quarter of U.S. assets under professional management used sustainable-investing strategies as of the beginning of 2018, a 38% increase from two years earlier, according to a new report.

Sustainable, responsible or impact-investments climbed by more than $3 trillion to hit almost $12 trillion, Washington-based Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment, known as US SIF, said Wednesday in a report. More asset managers built environmental, social and governance analysis into their investments, and more shunned firearms holdings, US SIF said.

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“We’re seeing more demand for sustainable and responsible investing, and more individual issues gaining attention, such as climate risk, board issues, tobacco and transparency,” said Meg Voorhees, research director for US SIF. “The institutional portion, in particular, has grown.”

Money managers for institutional investors control about $8.6 trillion of the socially responsible assets, while about $3 trillion is overseen for individual and retail investors, according to the study.

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Since US SIF began tracking the data in 1995, sustainable and responsible investment assets have had a compound annual growth rate of 13.6%.