Key Highlights from the US Sustainable Investing Trends Report

Establishing a Baseline Universe for Sustainable Investment & Stewardship 

• Market Size and Sustainable Investment (AUM): US SIF analysis, based on submissions to the SEC, records the US market size as $52.5 trillion, of which $6.5 trillion (12%) were identified or marketed as Sustainable or ESG investment. 

• Market Size and Stewardship (AUM): US SIF analysis finds that 79% of the US market AUM, or $41.5 trillion, was covered by a stewardship policy. More research is needed to drill down further within the assets covered by a stewardship policy. Clearly not every asset covered within a stewardship policy receives an action or engagement in any given year. 

• Both of these numbers create a new baseline which will enable us to better understand the market, interrogate policies and practices and replicate analysis of the US sustainable investing assets and US responsible/ sustainable stewardship over time. 

US SIF Survey Insights on Sustainable Investing 

• Perceptions on the Growth of Sustainable Investing: 73% of respondents expect the sustainable investment market to grow over the next one to two years; however, only 39% of respondents expect their own organizations to increase sustainable investing. 

• Trends in Sustainable Investing: The evolution of policies and regulations (69%) and the development of market standards (51%) continue to be leading trends, along with a focus on AI and data analytics (65%). The expansion of impact investing (58%) and the growth in subfields of sustainable investing (42%) were also highlighted by respondents. 

• Sustainable Development Priorities: Addressing climate change and the clean energy transition are a clear priority for respondents. Concerns about how this will impact stakeholders are also high on investors’ agendas (Communities, Decent Work & Equality).
  

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Use of Sustainable Investing Strategies

• Sustainable Investing Strategies: The integration of sustainability or ESG characteristics (81%) and the use of negative or exclusionary screening (75%) remain the most frequently reported strategies. Over 65% of respondents use three or more strategies across their investments. 

• Anticipated Changes in Sustainable Investing Strategies: Survey respondents expect to maintain or increase their use of all sustainable investment strategies, (ranging from 65% to 85%). The two categories with the highest anticipated increase were impact investing (37%) and sustainability-themed investing (36%). 

• Negative Screening: While tobacco exclusions remain a high priority (66%), the 2024 survey findings indicate that the use of partial or full fossil-fuel exclusions is now the most frequently reported negative screen (68%). 

• Integration of Environmental, Social & Governance Factors: The most frequently selected environmental factor is the consideration of climate change (80%); social factors include the integration of labor standards (72%) and human rights (66%); and governance factors include board structure and composition (74%) and transparency and disclosure (73%). 
• Shareholder Advocacy: Our survey results indicate that there is a strong core group of investors who undertake multiple actions in promoting the rights of shareholders. Over 60% of those who undertake stewardship adopt three or more actions, with 28% undertaking all five actions.
  

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For additional Trends report findings and information please visit the US SIF website at https://www.ussif.org