Most South African investors don’t care about ESG

Most South African investors don’t consider environmental, social, and governance issues in their investment decisions.

This was one of the findings in Daily Investor’s 2022 South African Investor Report, which is based on survey responses from 1,090 South African retail and institutional investors.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing made headlines in recent years, with many stakeholders seeing a shift towards responsible investing.

ESG refers to asset managers and retail investors applying a set of standards to make socially conscious investing decisions.

• Environmental concerns, like a company’s green energy credentials, what it does for the environment, and how it tackles climate change, are particularly popular.

• Social issues include how a company treats its employees and how it deals with its suppliers and customers.

• Governance relates to accurate and transparent accounting methods, shareholder rights, executive pay, audits, and internal controls.

Although ESG is a growing trend, with many investors putting their money behind their values, they are still in the minority in South Africa.

Only 41% of South African investors said they consider environmental, social, and governance issues for their investment decisions.

Interestingly, there is very little difference between institutional and retail investors when it comes to ESG investing.

In both groups, the majority said they do not consider environmental, social, and governance issues for their investment decisions.