Invest
AUSIEX: ESG stock trading quadrupled over lockdown
It may have started small, but the ESG trading movement is quickly gaining momentum among Australia’s investment community.
AUSIEX: ESG stock trading quadrupled over lockdown
It may have started small, but the ESG trading movement is quickly gaining momentum among Australia’s investment community.
Adoption of ESG-aligned stocks accelerated during the pandemic, new research by AUSIEX has suggested.
According to the firm’s latest Trading Transformation report, there was a healthy uptick of interest in ESG shares both during the lockdown period and towards the end of 2020.
The report noted that less than 0.8 per cent of established investment accounts had invested in ESG stocks as of November 2019.
However, this figure almost quadrupled to 2.9 per cent over the following six months.
Mathew Tilley, head of markets and client solutions at AUSIEX, noted that “ESG is increasingly at the forefront of the minds of investors as they make their investment decisions”.
“As the pressure to act increasingly comes from investors who see ESG issues as real investment risks, we will witness many more companies taking decisive and strong action and making environmental, social and governance factors central to their business plans,” he said.
Mr Tilley also noted that many of these ESG-aligned retail traders are now looking beyond the ASX.
“Amid global uncertainty, and indications that Australia may be able to weather the pandemic relatively well, advisers trading through platforms were enacting a flight to quality, with less focus on growth companies and more of a tilt towards the larger caps,” Mr Tilley said.
These comments come on the back of similar findings by Robeco.
In April 2021, Robeco found that 86 per cent of institutional and wholesale investors expect climate change to be at the centre of their investment policy. Meanwhile, 81 per cent see renewable energy as the leading force behind decarbonisation.
“Moving to a low-carbon economy needs a global effort, with governments, regulators, the corporate sector and individuals all playing their part,” said Robeco CEO Gilbert Van Hassel.
“The time to act really is now. As a global leader in sustainable investing, we see it as our duty to share our passion and expertise with those who have yet to fully embrace it, so that together we can rise to one of the greatest challenges facing humanity: the climate crisis.”
RELATED ARTICLES
About the author
About the author
Shares
DREST gears up for innovation with the appointment of new co-CEO and CTO
Luxury fashion and lifestyle mobile game DREST has announced significant leadership changes as it prepares for an exciting phase of development and expansion. Read more
Shares
Hope for investors scared by share and crypto crashes
As share markets and cryptocurrency take a beating following the tightening of monetary policy across the world, investors are contemplating their next move. Read more
Shares
Cannon-Brookes tries to block AGL demerger
Mike Cannon-Brookes is not giving up on AGL after the latter announced 15 June as the date of the demerger vote. Read more
Shares
Qantas set to acquire Alliance Aviation
The two airlines have entered into a scheme implementation deed. Read more
Shares
Bond and share investors may shrug off RBA’s rate hike
As mortgage holders reel from the prospect of having to reach deeper into their hip pockets to make bigger repayments following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) interest rate hike from 0Read more
Shares
How to buy Shares: A beginner’s guide in 2022
So you want to get in on the stock market action? Congratulations, that’s an exciting step! But first, there are a few things you should know before you buy your first shares. Read more
Shares
Elon Musk chokes up on bid to swallow Twitter
The battle of the bird has intensified over the last week, as Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has ramped up his aggressive campaign to buy the entirety of social media giant, Twitter. Read more
Shares
How to Make Money in Short Selling
What is short selling? There is a common practice for people who actively trade in the stock market, which is to “buy low and sell high”, but what if you can still make money by doing the opposite? Read more
Shares
DREST gears up for innovation with the appointment of new co-CEO and CTO
Luxury fashion and lifestyle mobile game DREST has announced significant leadership changes as it prepares for an exciting phase of development and expansion. Read more
Shares
Hope for investors scared by share and crypto crashes
As share markets and cryptocurrency take a beating following the tightening of monetary policy across the world, investors are contemplating their next move. Read more
Shares
Cannon-Brookes tries to block AGL demerger
Mike Cannon-Brookes is not giving up on AGL after the latter announced 15 June as the date of the demerger vote. Read more
Shares
Qantas set to acquire Alliance Aviation
The two airlines have entered into a scheme implementation deed. Read more
Shares
Bond and share investors may shrug off RBA’s rate hike
As mortgage holders reel from the prospect of having to reach deeper into their hip pockets to make bigger repayments following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) interest rate hike from 0Read more
Shares
How to buy Shares: A beginner’s guide in 2022
So you want to get in on the stock market action? Congratulations, that’s an exciting step! But first, there are a few things you should know before you buy your first shares. Read more
Shares
Elon Musk chokes up on bid to swallow Twitter
The battle of the bird has intensified over the last week, as Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has ramped up his aggressive campaign to buy the entirety of social media giant, Twitter. Read more
Shares
How to Make Money in Short Selling
What is short selling? There is a common practice for people who actively trade in the stock market, which is to “buy low and sell high”, but what if you can still make money by doing the opposite? Read more
