TD Ameritrade has conducted a ‘Socially Responsible Investing Survey’ which interviewed more than one thousand American adult investors who has received wealth management service. The survey result shows that there is difference between the point of views of different generations towards socially responsible investing (SRI), while there is also difference between the views of men and women.
According to TD Ameritrade, there are less than half of the interviewees (45%) who recognize the importance of SRI, and people’s focus on the importance of SRI varies with their age and gender. In the survey, the respondents can be categorized according to their age as Matures (adults born before 1940s), Boomers (adults born in the period of 1940s to 1960s), Gen X (adults born in the period of 1960s to 1980s) and Millennials (adults born in the period of 1980s to 2000s). It is discovered that the younger the generation is, the more acceptable they are towards socially responsible investments, as the statistics show that there are 43% of the Millennials and 33% of the Gen X who would consider SRI while only 25% of the Boomers and 18% of the Matures would do so.
Moreover, when comparing the viewpoints of different generations on ESG (environmental, social and governance) factors, there is notable difference between that of Boomers and Millennials as the former values human right the most (18%) while the latter values environmental impacts the most (24%). Nevertheless, both generations place philanthropy as their least priority with the support of 3% of Boomers and 7% of Millennials only.
As for the gender difference, although both male (16%) and female (21%) recognize the importance of human rights, there are more male respondents (15%) than female respondents (9%) who favor diversity, whereas there are more female respondents (7%) than male respondents (2%) who value the importance of gender equality.
The implication of this survey is that wealth management service providers should be able to adjust clients’ investment portfolio according to their age and gender so as to help clients get higher rate of returns while catering to their interest, thus developing long-term relationship.
Source: https://s1.q4cdn.com/959385532/files/doc_downloads/research/2018/Socially-Responsible-Investing-Survey_research-data.pdf
