A flourishing relationship between asset manager and asset owner: aligning sustainable investment solutions with institutional investor needs

Kennisbank •
Ryan Allison FIA, drs. Wim Weijgertze AAG

The last year has seen a particularly meteoric rise in the popularity of sustainable investing, with institutional investors increasingly seeking to identify attractive investment opportunities which meet their risk and return objectives as well as achieve strong ESG performance.

A flourishing relationship between asset manager and asset owner: aligning sustainable investment solutions with institutional investor needs

Asset managers have consequently expanded their offerings to align solutions with client needs. Q3 2020 data released by Morningstar1 indicates that global inflows into sustainable funds were up 14% to $80.5bn, while sustainable product development hit an all-time high with 166 new offerings (including 38 in countries outside of Europe and the U.S.). Asset managers also continued to repurpose and rebrand conventional products into sustainable funds, with 32 of such funds in Europe.


This growth is driven by several key factors which we explore further in this article: societal expectations, regulatory demands, and the search for yield.