NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, April 9, 2015

For some investors, the social responsibility of investment options matter. But those investors are not the majority.

Spectrem’s newest research study of affluent investors Financial Attitudes and Concerns studied the interest investors have in the social responsibility of their investment choices. The fact is that social responsibility does not matter when most investors make their financial decisions regarding investments.

The Spectrem study examined the interests of investors from three different wealth segments, and the wealthiest segment was the Ultra High Net Worth Investor, with a net worth between $5 million and $25 million Not Including Primary Residence. Among that segment, only 20 percent of investors said the social responsibility of investments was a factor in their investment selections.

It is interesting to note that the lowest wealth segment studied by Spectrem’s report, the Mass Affluent, showed that 36 percent concerned themselves with the social responsibility of their investments. The Mass Affluent investors are those with a net worth between $100,000 and $1 million NIPR.