ESG investing: once a nice-to-have, now a must-have and a “huge opportunity”

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing, once dismissed as eccentric, now represents a “huge opportunity” as issues such as climate change look set to overturn the business models and value of assets of almost every company on the planet.

“ESG investing is no longer something clients should view as a sacrifice,” Claudio de Sanctis, Global Head of Deutsche Bank’s International Private Bank (IPB), says in a new video. “It’s becoming a precondition to actually do proper investments and for companies to be viable choices.”

Other speakers in the video include Christian Sewing, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Bank, and Justin Rockefeller, Head of Impact at Addepar, who urges investors to speak to their financial advisor to make “simple tweaks” to their portfolios that will “create big ripple effects”.

“Not long ago, ESG investing was dismissed as eccentric – then it became a nice-to-have,” says Markus Mueller, Global Head of the Chief Investment Office (CIO) for the IPB. “Now it’s a must-have – and in the future it will be a huge opportunity.”