Socially Responsible Investing: Who Cares?

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - May 13, 2015) - For some investors, the social responsibility of a corporation is one of the guiding questions they ask before investing. For other investors, it's irrelevant. While plenty of investors are uninterested in socially responsible investing -- 47 percent of Affluent investors do not have these investments in their portfolio -- younger investors are embracing socially responsible investments: 25 percent of investors under the age of 35 commit 25-74 percent of their portfolio to these investments.

The new Spectrem Perspective, Investor Perceptions of Socially Responsible and Impact Investing, examines the differences between investors who care about socially responsible investing and those who don't, breaking down investor segments to discover who is most likely to invest in a socially responsible corporation, and how investors determine the social impact of a company before investing.

Key findings include:

• More than one quarter of all investors under the age of 45 have at least 25 percent of their investable assets invested in socially responsible companies. Conversely, more than 45 percent of all investors over the age of 45 do not invest in socially responsible companies.
• Female investors are more likely to invest more heavily in socially responsible firms: 21 percent of females invest 25 percent or more of their assets in socially responsible companies, compared with 16 percent of males who devote 25 percent or more of their portfolios to socially responsible investments.
• The main reason investors support socially responsible firms is to create a better world for their children and grandchildren. Most investors who refuse socially responsible investments invest purely for financial gain.
• Water conservation, promoting good health and exercise, and developing solar energies are investors' three organization/charity types of choice for their socially responsible investments.

"The attitudes toward investing for social impact are divergent and strongly held," says George H. Walper Jr., President of Spectrem Group. "Those that are in favor see it as a way to improve the world and increase assets at the same time, while those who are against it simply don't consider it a meaningful factor in investing."

Additional information is available at Spectrem.com and Spectrem's Millionaire Corner, including:

• What Investors Think about Socially Responsible Investing
• Affluent Investors to Socially Responsible Investing: We're Just Not That into You

Reports available upon request.