Investment Amount for German Sustainable Financial Resources Revealed

The German Investment and Asset Management Association (BVI) has reported a significant increase in the amount of wealth managed sustainably, with 361 billion euros being managed sustainably by the middle of the year. This represents an 8 percent increase compared to March 31, equivalent to approximately 4,500 euros per German.

The growth in sustainable assets is particularly noteworthy when considering the net inflows for the first half of the year. A total of 22.2 billion euros were invested in sustainable funds, surpassing the value for the whole of 2020. The second quarter alone saw net inflows of 10.2 billion euros, a testament to the growing interest in sustainable investing.

However, the BVI has commented that the values based on the disclosure regulation may underestimate the spread of sustainability in special funds for institutional investors. This is due to the fact that investment strategies in special funds are often individually designed, providing little incentive for fund companies to classify them as sustainability funds according to Article 8 or 9.

The total market currently has information on the sustainability status of funds available for about 85 percent. Retail funds, which account for nearly 70 percent of the total volume with 251 billion euros, have more comprehensive disclosure compared to special funds, which amount to 110 billion euros.

Despite the growth in sustainable assets, the second quarter saw low inflows for sustainable special funds. This could be due to the adaptation period some fund companies are undergoing to comply with the new EU Disclosure Regulation requirements for Sustainable special funds.

The value for the second quarter includes catch-up reports of around 80 billion euros due to some fund companies adapting their data reporting to the new rules. This influx of data has contributed to the overall growth in sustainable assets under management.

In light of the growing trend towards sustainable investing, it is expected that the market will continue to evolve, with more fund companies likely to classify their special funds as sustainability funds in the future. This could lead to a more comprehensive disclosure of sustainability status across the entire market.