Morgan Stanley Finds Sustainable Investing Poised for Growth

"NEW YORK, Feb. 27 /CSRwire/ - Over seventy percent of active individual investors (71%) describe themselves as interested in sustainable investing, and nearly two in three (65%) believe sustainable investing will become more prevalent over the next five years, according to a new survey published today by the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing.  The new Sustainable Signals report examines the attitudes and perceptions of individual investors towards sustainable investing and considers the broader implications for investors, corporations and governments."

One question we at AFI often get has to do with investor returns, and whether investors need to accept sub-market returns to invest in sustainable firms (which, by the way, we don't believe we need to...).  This study indicates investors are split on the question (54% think there is a trade-off between sustainability and financial gain, while 46% don't) but, 72% of investors believe that firms with sustainable practices can achieve higher profitability and are better long term investments!

If sustainable firms can do better, why can't their returns be better too?