The Investment Association’s (IA) annual survey has found that 46% of assets managed by members integrated ESG criteria into the investment process in 2021, down from 49% in 2020. However, the proportion of assets subject to sustainability-focused criteria saw substantial growth, rising from 2.6% of assets to 8%. Assets subject to firm- or product-level exclusions rose one percentage point to 26%, while impact investments remained a niche area, representing just 0.5% of assets managed by members. In total, members of the UK trade body managed £10 trillion in assets in 2021, representing a 6% year-on-year rise. Total assets managed for overseas clients increased to £4.6 trillion from £4.2 trillion in 2020. IA members manage £4.7 trillion globally on behalf of UK based institutional clients, this is up from £4.5 trillion the previous year. UK pension funds and insurers were responsible for 85% of the assets.
