This report has been provided by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) and can be accessed here.
The annual Responsible Investment Benchmark Report measures the size and growth of the New Zealand responsible and impact investment market over 12 months to 31 December 2020. Highlights include:
In 2020, the impact investing market was worth $3.3b, growing more than 9 times from $358m in 2018. Green, social and sustainability (GSS) bonds made up 82% of total worth. However, impact investments have decreased from $4.7b in 2019, driven by maturation of existing bonds and decrease in GSS bonds issued. Non-GSS impact investments (e.g. private equity and venture capital, private debt) increased from $570m in 2019 to $608m in 2020.
In 2020, the responsible investment market was worth $142b representing 43% of estimated $328b of total managed assets. Responsible investment grew 28% while total managed assets grew 11%.
The top three drivers for growth in responsible investment were: demand from institutional investors (38%), growing acceptance that ESG factors impact the financial performance of investments (37%), alignment of investments with mission or values (27%).
The top three themes for investment managers applying sustainability-themed investments were: climate change (50%), natural capital (44%) and social impact (2%).
A recording of the launch of the report can be viewed with accompanying slide deck.