Investing for good? It’s age and not income that counts, say findings from Hong Kong’s investment funds body
- Young Hongkongers are more interested in buying green investment products, according to Hong Kong Investment Funds Association survey
- Little understanding of products and their returns are reasons that put retail investors off
It is not how much you make, but how old you are that determines your appetite for sustainable investing, according to a survey by the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association released on Sunday.
Nearly a fifth of Hong Kong respondents aged between 18 and 29 said they would definitely buy green investment products – funds, bonds or stocks – that will deliver a positive impact on the environment and society, against only 10 per cent for those between 45 and 55 years old, the survey found.
But in Guangdong, the bigger interest came from older investors – 31 per cent from the 45 to 55 year-old group, compared with 21 per cent of respondents aged between 18 to 29.
The survey interviewed 1,026 investors in Hong Kong, and Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai cities in the southern Guangdong province in the third quarter of last year.
Higher income earners in both Hong Kong and Guangdong generally have a greater interest in green investing. In Hong Kong, 29 per cent of investors who earned HK$100,000 or more a month said they would invest in green products, versus none from the HK$10,000 income bracket.
The most common reasons cited by Hong Kong investors are a lack of understanding on what environmental, social and governance (ESG) products are invested in, and their potential returns
While the trend was similar in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai for the higher income group, where 60 per cent of respondents were keen, a notable 32 per cent of respondents who earned a modest HK$10,000 had also expressed interest.