Sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investing in the U.S. is expanding at a healthy clip, according to a biennial report from the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment. This is hopeful news for entrepreneurs seeking funding and impact investors who want to support them.
Specifically, the total US-domiciled assets under management using SRI strategies grew from $8.7 trillion at the start of 2016 to $12 trillion two years later, an increase of 38 percent. That’s also 26 percent, or 1 in 4 dollars, of the $46.6 trillion in total assets under management.
And there’s a growing number of venture capital and private equity funds interested in these areas.
Plus, assets invested with sustainable strategies are growing faster than the financial markets as a whole.
“We continue to see growth in this field, and we continue to see evidence that money managers and asset managers recognize that considering ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) factors is part of what should be part of best practice today,” says Meg Voorhes, research director at US SIF and a co-author of the study.