Buy-Side Financial Institutions Survey: ESG Budgets & Priorities

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Executive Summary

This report, based on a global survey of 30 respondents, assists buy-side firms in benchmarking their firms’ ESG and sustainability investment strategies against industry peers. Additionally, ESG solution providers and consulting firms should leverage the findings to aid development of appropriate solutions to meet the outlined market demand. The data were gathered between November 2021 and February 2022. The survey highlights the extent to which ESG integration has become a necessity within an investing strategy, with all respondents outlining an ESG strategy for investing. However, issues still remain over the quality of ESG financial solutions, with no ESG information source in our survey gaining more than 30% of respondents describing it as ‘high’ or ‘very high’ quality.  

Table of contents

Global Buy-Side Survey Details Role Of ESG And Sustainability Metrics In Investment Decision-Making 
Global Survey Features 30 Buy-Side Executives Across Geographies and Industries

ESG Is Of Paramount Importance In An Investing Strategy 
ESG Investing Grows In Stature
The Broad Nature Of ESG Enables A Variety Of Roles To Engage With ESG Matters

State Of The ESG Financial Solutions Market 
Quality Of ESG Financial Solutions Is Still Up For Debate

What Are The Key Trends Expected Over The Next Two Years In The ESG Investment Market? 
Investors’ ESG Strategies Become Established
Extent To Which Spending On ESG Initiatives Will Change Is Unclear

Table of figures

Figure 1. Rise In Sustainable Funds’ Assets 
Figure 2. Firms’ Investment Approach To ESG 
Figure 3. Decision-Makers Responsible For Firms’ ESG Strategies 
Figure 4. Defining Investor-Grade Data 
Figure 5. ESG Technology Solutions 
Figure 6. Quality Of ESG Financial Solutions 
Figure 7. Priority ESG Financial Solutions For 2022 
Figure 8. Projected ESG And Sustainability Consulting Spend In 2022 
Figure 9. Projected ESG Financial Solutions Spend In 2022 

About the authors

Sam Renshaw

Industry Analyst

Sam is an Industry Analyst in the ESG & Sustainability practice. His current research agenda focuses on ESG solutions across financial markets including ESG information providers and sustainability consulting. Sam joined Verdantix in 2021, and previously worked at Moody’s Analytics as part of the Buy-Side Solutions team. He holds a BSc from The University of Nottingham in Economics and is a CFA Level 2 candidate.

Kim Knickle

Research Director, ESG & Sustainability
Kimberly Knickle is Research Director of the ESG & Sustainability practice at Verdantix. Her research areas encompass ESG regulations and reporting, ESG risk, supply chain sustainability, circular economy, social impact, and sustainable finance. Kim has worked for more than 20 years in the IT industry, providing research and analysis to help companies invest wisely in new technologies. Before joining the analyst industry, she held various roles in IT services, engineering and product safety testing, beginning her career at Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. Kim holds an MBA from Boston University and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Cornell.

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