Trends in Responsible Investment

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A growing segment, new opportunities for your practice

The institutional market is often a leading indicator of trends in the retail market. Moreover, retail investors are also increasingly aware of sustainable development issues, and most are ready to invest a portion of their portfolios in RIfootnote 1 .

Get your clients ahead of trends by talking to them about RI solutions.

  • 64% of investors would include RI in their portfoliofootnote 1.
  • 15% of investors have discussed RI with their advisorfootnote 1.
  • 61.8% of total assets under management in Canada in 2020 are invested in accordance with responsible investment (RI) principlesfootnote 2.
  • US$290B in environmental (green) bonds were issued in 2020footnote3.
  • 195 countries and territories have signed the Paris Agreement on climate changefootnote 4.
  • US$500B was invested worldwide in green energy in 2020footnote 5.

Responsible investing that also aims to deliver competitive potential returns

RI solutions offer your clients the opportunity to seize the growth potential of high-quality companies that are leading the way in the transition to a more sustainable economy. Furthermore, they can position you as the trusted advisor with cutting-edge yet disciplined strategies for tomorrow’s markets. The following data show that RI/ESG strategies can generate potential returns that are on par with or better than traditional investments.footnote 6

  • Don’t compromise on return potential!

    Responsible investment solutions offer a return potential that is just as attractive as what you would get with a traditional investment – sometimes even better! Confirmed by more than 2,000 Studiesfootnote 7.

  • Sustained growth

    Sustained growth. RI in 2020 represents 61.8% of Canada's investment industryfootnote2.


RI: promote your growth in your practice

Millennials, women and university-educated individuals are among the many high-potential market segments for RI. The market is experiencing significant growth in specific regions in Canada as well, notably Quebec and British Columbia.

Millennials

Millennials are the biggest segment of Canada’s working populationfootnote 8 .

Young investors (18 to 34) are 2x more likely to consider RI than investors 55 and overfootnote 9.

2 out of 3 think their advisor should know about responsible investingfootnote 10.


Women

By 2030, roughly 2/3 of the private wealth in the US will be held by womenfootnote 11.

In 2017 in United States, 84% of women expressed interest in sustainable investing, compared to 67% of menfootnote 12.

69% feel a sense of urgency to invest responsiblyfootnote 13.


Be proactive

Help clients take action today. Recommend Desjardins’s industry-leading responsible investment solutions.

Materials and training

Learn more about RI

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(For advisor use only)

  1. Desjardins. Étude 2020 sur l’investissement responsable. December 2020. [SOM Investor Web Survey for Desjardins Investment inc., held with 2,864 Canadian respondents. The margin of error is ± 2.6%, 19 times out of 20] [internal document].
  2. Responsible Investment Association. 2020 Canadian Responsible Investment Trends Report : November 2020. - External link. Opens in a new window. RIA, (updated January 21, 2021): 3. [cited July 9, 2021].
  3. Climate Bonds Initiative. Sustainable Debt : Global State of the Market - 2020. - External link. Opens in a new window. (April 23, 2021): 5. [cited July 9, 2021].
  4. United Nations. 7. d) Paris Agreement: Paris, 12 December 2015. - External link. Opens in a new window. November 4, 2016, p. XXVII 7D. Environment 1. [cited March 23, 2020].
  5. Habboush, Mahmoud. "Renewables Made Up 72% of All New Power Additions in 2019." - External link. Opens in a new window. Bloomberg Green - Energy & Science, April 6, 2020. [cited July 9, 2021].
  6. Friede, Gunnar et al. ESG & Financial Performance: Aggregated Evidence from More Than 2,000 Empirical Studies. - External link. Opens in a new window. Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, in Taylor & Francis Online, 2015. [cited March 23, 2020]. doi: 10.1080/20430795.2015.1118917.
  7. Friede, Gunnar et al. ESG & Corporate Performance: Mapping the Global Landscape. - External link. Opens in a new window. Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, S11, December 2015. Responsible for the underlying research paper ESG & Financial Performance: Aggregated Evidence from More Than 2,000 Empirical Studies. November 2015. [cited March 23, 2020]. doi: 10.1080/20430795.2015.1118917.
  8. Scott, Graham F. "Millennials are now the biggest generation in the Canadian workforce." - External link. Opens in a new window. Canadian Business, June 3, 2015. [cited March 23, 2020].
  9. Responsible Investment Association. 2020 RIA Investor Opinion Survey : Canadian Investor Perspectives on Diversity & Inclusion - October 2020. - External link. Opens in a new window. RIA, (October 15, 2020) : 8. [cited April 28, 2020].
  10. Responsible Investment Association. Millennials, Women and The Future of Responsible Investing : April 2016. - External link. Opens in a new window. RIA (April 5, 2016): 3. [cited March 23, 2020].
  11. Nelund, Gloria. "Investing With Her." - External link. Opens in a new window. GreenMoney, 2015. [cited March 23, 2020].
  12. Morgan Stanley. Sustainable Signals: New Data from the Individual Investor. - External link. Opens in a new window. Institute for Sustainable Investing, (August 9, 2017): 8. [cited March 23, 2020].
  13. Woll, Lisa. "Women and Sustainable Investing: Driving Assets and Benefitting from a Gender-Lens Approach." - External link. Opens in a new window. Green Money, April 2019. [cited March 23, 2020].