Sustainable investments: One for the money, two for the show

Using a representative sample of the Dutch population, this paper characterizes two groups of sustainable investors in detail: those who invest in sustainable assets primarily for social reasons (social sustainable investors) and those who do so primarily for financial reasons (financial sustainable investors). Both groups are equally important but have different features. Social sustainable investors tend to have a higher level of social preferences, education and trust, and are more likely to be politically left-wing and risk averse. Recommendations from (social) media and word of mouth seem to motivate only financial sustainable investors. In general, lack of information is the main barrier to investing sustainably.

Other authors: Hans Degryse, Alberta Di Giuli and Francesco Stradi, KU Leuven, Faculty of Economics and Business