【斯坦福创业研究中心】2024年搜索基金研究报告

2024 Institutional Investor Survey on Sustainability Summary

Core Content

The 2024 Institutional Investor Survey on Sustainability, conducted by Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Hoover Institution Working Group on Corporate Governance, the Rock Center for Corporate Governance, and the MSCI Sustainability Institute, provides an in-depth analysis of how institutional investors globally incorporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into their investment decision-making.

The survey included responses from 47 institutional investment firms and asset managers in North America (49%), Europe (47%), and Asia (4%). These firms manage a total of over $1 trillion in assets, with 43% managing more than $250 billion and 34% managing between $10 billion and $250 billion.

Main Findings

ESG Integration is Mainstream but Governance is Most Important

• Over 75% of global institutional investors consider ESG factors in their decision-making.
• Governance is the most important ESG factor, with 68% of investors ranking it as the top consideration.
• Environmental factors are less emphasized, with only 23% considering them most important.
• Social factors are even less prominent, with 2% of investors ranking them as most important.
• Climate change is the most critical environmental issue, with 78% of investors explicitly considering it.

ESG is Primarily for Risk Reduction

• 80% of investors believe ESG has a financial impact, and 77% think it is industry-specific.
• ESG is seen as a tool to reduce tail risk, volatility, and improve Sharpe ratios.
• Only 37% believe ESG generates alpha, and 20% think it has no impact on financial performance.
• 77% of investors measure ESG relative to industry peers, not against absolute standards.

Climate Risk is a Major Concern

• 93% of investors believe climate issues will most likely affect investment performance over the next 2–5 years.
• 95% of European investors analyze emissions, compared to 85% of North American investors.
• Only 4% believe climate-related risks are fully reflected in asset prices today.

Regional Differences

• European investors are more likely to operate under an ESG mandate (73% vs. 26% in North America).
• Despite this, North American investors have similar views on the impact of ESG on performance and how ESG risks are priced.
• European investors are more likely to consider data security and privacy, board diversity, and net zero pledges.

ESG as a Filter, Not a Guarantee

• 40% of investors would exclude a company with strong financial performance if its ESG characteristics are poor.
• 84% would not invest in a company with good ESG performance but poor fundamentals.
• ESG considerations shrink the investable universe by an average of 22%, with 19% as the median.
• Investors are divided on whether a company in a "bad" industry can still have a high ESG score based on its management of other ESG aspects.
• 23% believe it can, while 21% believe it cannot.

Key ESG Factors Considered

Top 5 ESG Factors (by percentage of investors considering them)

Bottom 7 ESG Factors (by percentage of investors considering them)

Conclusion

The survey highlights that ESG integration is now mainstream among institutional investors, with governance being the most emphasized factor. Climate change is a central concern, but its risks are not yet fully priced in asset markets. Social factors play a limited role, with data security and privacy being the most significant. Investors are focused on risk reduction, and while they are not withdrawing from entire industries, they are weeding out poor performers. The importance of ESG varies by region, with European investors showing more interest in governance and environmental issues compared to North American investors.

Authors

• David F. Larcker: James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting, Emeritus, at Stanford Graduate School of Business; co-director of the Hoover Institution Working Group on Corporate Governance.
• Amit Seru: Steven and Roberta Denning Professor of Finance at Stanford Graduate School of Business; senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.
• Brian Tayan: Member of the Corporate Governance Research Initiative at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
• Linda-Eling Lee: Founding Director and Head of the MSCI Sustainability Institute; leader in sustainable finance.