Although 72% of Canadians have never heard of responsible investing (RI), 66% of the total adult population would be willing to adopt the strategy after learning more about it, according to a report from Lévis, Que.-based Desjardins Group’s wealth-management arm released on Thursday.
These data send a clear message to financial advisors that they should be approaching the topic of RI with clients proactively and be willing to offer products that adhere to it, according to Rosalie Vendette, a senior advisor who specializes in developing RI strategies with Desjardins Wealth Management.
“[RI] is not very well-known, so people can’t ask about it,” she says.
Even though RI offers comparable returns to those of traditional investments, the strategy can offer “added value” above returns, as it can provide another level of risk protection, says Vendette.
In particular, she points out that RI products take into account information related to corporate governance, social factors and environmental issues, which may all contribute to more risk within an investment.
In addition, the research indicates that Canadians have very defined views about the RI principles are most important to them. Air quality and human rights tied for first place with 84% of Canadians stating these principles are important. Nature and forest conservation lands in second place (83%) while waste management (79%), workers’ rights (78%) and climate change (78%) round out the list.
Although most Canadians know little about RI, the investment strategy is still growing. RI passed $1 trillion in assets under management in 2013, up by a substantial 68% from 2011, according to Desjardins’ study, which cites the Responsible Investment Association’s Canadian Responsible Investment Trends Report published in 2015.
Desjardins Wealth Management polled 2,120 Canadians through an online survey between Jan. 7 and Jan. 12 for this report. Survey results were weighted to reflect the overall makeup of Canada’s adult population.
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