UK savers put almost £1bn a month into responsible investment funds in 2020, the Investment Association (IA) has stated, while net retail sales into responsible investment funds in January 2021 reached £1.2bn.

Of the £1.2bn invested in responsible investment funds in January, £703m was invested in equity funds, £180m was invested in bond funds and £241m was invested in mixed asset funds. Total net retail sales over the last year were £12.4bn, or 43 per cent of total net sales.

This means that responsible investment funds under management now total over £56bn, growing 66 per cent over the past 12 months, in comparison to 7 per cent across funds overall. Of this total, two-thirds of responsible investment funds under management have a sustainability focus and 72 per cent exclude certain types of investments, with 42 per cent doing both.

Chris Cummings, chief executive of IA, said: “This growth is indicative of how important investing with environmental, social and governance considerations in mind has become.”

Share Story: