ESG assets are on a path to exceed $53 trillion globally by 2025, which would represent more than a third of the expected $141 trillion of global assets under management.
Although the EU and US are starting to develop and adopt regulations, they are still years away until robust ESG standards and policies are enforced in the financial sector.
Consequently, investors will need to keep ESG asset managers and funds accountable for tracking and reporting their investments’ actual climate impact.
In the first quarter of 2021, global sustainable funds attracted $185.3 billion, up 17% from the prior quarter according to Morningstar – with the EU and the US accounting for 79.2% and 11.5% of that, respectively. This upward trend is forecast to continue, with environmental, social and governance (ESG) assets on a pathway to exceed $53 trillion globally by 2025, which would represent more than a third of the anticipated $140.5 trillion of global assets under management.