The sustainable investment market 2008 – Germany, Austria and Switzerland

The issue of making sustainable investments in companies that are aware of their social and environmental responsibilities is becoming more and more important. From 2005 to 2008, adelphi regularly carried out studies of the sustainable investment market in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for "Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen e.V.". The 2008 study was based on a survey completed by financial service providers active in the sustainable investment sector in the three countries in question. The objective was to gather general data regarding the sustainable investment market, such as the volume of sustainable investment funds open to the general public, as well as the volumes of mandates and certificates. At the same time, trends and changes in the sustainable investment market were also identified and recorded.

Although in Switzerland, for the first time, more than half of the sustainable investments were made by private individuals, in Germany and Austria it was still the case that the majority of sustainable investments were down to institutions. According to the results of the study, how the distribution of the market between private and institutional investors will develop in these two countries must remain to be seen. However, the study did forecast that the overall volume of sustainable investment would continue to rise in all three countries.