35% rise in European high net worth sustainable assets, despite crisis: Eurosif

The level of sustainable investments in European high net worth individuals’ (HNWIs) portfolios is estimated to have increased significantly since the beginning of the current financial crisis despite a drop in overall wealth assets during the same period, according to research by the European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif).
Eurosif’s latest survey of European wealth managers and family offices, calculates the 2010 European level of sustainably-managed assets to be approximately €729 billion, which would represent an average of 11% of European HNWIs’ portfolios as of December 31, 2009. Eurosif said the figure represented a 35% rise since itsurveyed the market two years ago. Eurosif defines sustainable investment as strategies including thematic environmental investing, social investing, and positive and negative screening. Eurosif approached 420 family offices and based its research on informal client figures from respondents. It said 94% of responding wealth managers and 75% of HNWIs said they thought the financial crisis had a positive impact on the performance of their sustainable investments. Eurosif predicts that by 2013 the share of sustainable investments by HNWIs will have increased to 15%, just below the €1.2 trillion mark.
Link to Eurosif for research