ESG and investment

Green finance, the wind has changed and distributors say so too

The decline in investor confidence emerges from a survey conducted by Bva/Doxa for Etica Sgr among 20 financial product distributors

by Vitaliano D'Angerio

15 April 2025

2' min read

Key points

The future
Back 10 years
The Etica Sgr collection

2' min read

A drop in confidence. Physiological, perhaps, after years of a green hangover. This is what emerges from a survey commissioned by Etica Sgr to Bva/Doxa among 20 distributors of financial products.

There are three elements pointed out by placers that are behind this slowdown: 1) an increase in the performance of non-sustainable products compared to green products, also in the light of geopolitical scenarios; 2) an increasing competitiveness of government bonds and 3) a lower conviction towards sustainability on the part of people due to doubts about the actual sustainability and advantage of certain types of business such as the electric car.

The Future

So is the great run-up in sustainable financial products over? The answer is no. But, according to the placers, 'in the near future it is believed that Esg products may have further space, albeit in a contained and gradual manner'.

This space should mainly be found 'in new portfolios', e.g. in the accumulation plans (Pac) of younger customers. For other clients it will be more difficult: the distributors explain that it will be difficult to find space in portfolios that 'do not yet have a sustainable share'. And then, they add, growth will also be directly proportional to the increase in the investable universe, i.e. 'the number of companies that are "investible" by sustainable finance and the performance they will demonstrate over time'.

Jump back 10 years

Reading these answers feels like stepping back ten years, to before 2015, the watershed year for sustainable finance, the year of the Paris Treaty on CO2 reduction and the Laudato Si' encyclical on the common home.

This new sentiment towards EGF financial products has undoubtedly been influenced by many other causes in addition to those indicated by the placers. Not least of these is the anti-EGS campaign launched in recent years in the United States by the Republicans, as confirmed by Etica Sgr's deputy general manager Roberto Grossi. "The performance of the defence sector is certainly weighing on the situation," Grossi points out. "These are weapons that are outside our portfolios. Then, in my opinion, there is the excess of European regulations in the green sphere, which has created a certain disaffection. Finally, just as important, is what has happened in recent years in the US with the Republicans' anti-EGS campaign'.

The Etica Sgr collection

And what is happening at Etica Sgr? The management company, which is part of the Banca Etica group, managed around EUR 6.4 billion as at 31 March. "After years of strong growth at Etica Sgr, we have noted a reduction in inflows," recalls Grossi, "due in particular to a repositioning of client portfolios by some important placers (change of management company, ed.). In general, however, we continue to record a strong conviction on the part of those who have chosen our funds to allocate their assets and savings from a medium- to long-term perspective, also looking at the social and environmental impacts of their investments'.

Vitaliano D’Angerioredattore
- @vdangerio
Luogo: Milano
Lingue parlate: italiano, inglese
Argomenti: finanza sostenibile, previdenza
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