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Attitudes towards sustainable investing are changing in Asia, family office leaders say
- Younger generations and public pressure are helping to drive change in portfolio construction
- Momentum is growing among public and private investors for impact and sustainable investments
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Asia is lagging behind when it comes to sustainable investing, but attitudes are changing, particularly as a new generation of leaders seeks to make an impact through its investing choices, according to family office investors.
Speaking at the Post’s Asia Sustainability Conference, Yuni Choi, director of investments at Hong Kong family office RS Group Asia, said Europe has been a pioneer in the space in terms of the percentage of assets under management dedicated to sustainable investment, as well as products dedicated to environmental, social and governance (ESG) and impact investing.
“I’m optimistic that the momentum in Asia is very very strong in terms of both public investors, like pension funds and governments, as well as private investments,” Choi said. “Even though it has been slower in terms of development in Asia, I see a great momentum in family offices, so I feel more optimistic.”
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RS Group, founded by Annie Chen, helped incubate the Sustainable Finance Initiative, a community platform designed to encourage sustainable finance in Hong Kong. The platform now has about 17 family offices learning about sustainable finance and deploying capital actively in the space, Choi said.
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The process of achieving a 100 per cent sustainable portfolio is much easier now than it was a decade ago, Choi said.
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“It is possible to build a 100 per cent sustainably invested portfolio and meet the financial needs or returns,” she said. “If you’re not in the space, it’s not too late. There are a lot of attractive products out there and a lot of knowledge and advisers in the space.”
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