A new report by Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing, Sustainable Signals suggests that investors still care about sustainable investing and ocean conservation is a leading topic.
The survey polled 1,765 active individual investors with more than $100,000 in investable assets across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific (APAC) between February and March of 2025 to assess attitudes toward sustainable investing and where investors see the greatest opportunities and challenges.
The majority of global investors surveyed (88%) say they are interested in sustainable investing. Younger investors show the most interest in sustainability, with 99% of Gen Z and 97% of Millennial investors expressing interest. Nearly two-thirds of all investors (64%) say their interest has increased in the last year.
In Europe, ocean conservation ranked second in terms of outcomes investors wanted to see. A quarter of Europeans said ocean conservation was a priority. In North America and APAC the percentage was 17%. Ocean conservation ranked eighth in North America and seventh in Asia Pacific.
“Our Sustainable Signals survey shows that investors across demographic groups and regions continue to believe that investments can achieve both positive real-world outcomes and competitive market-rate returns,” said Jessica Alsford, Chief Sustainability Officer and Chair of the Institute for Sustainable Investing at Morgan Stanley. “Younger investors plan to increase portfolio allocations to sustainable options at higher rates and prioritize a broader range of environmental and social issues when making investment decisions. This suggests that sustainability could become an even greater focus area for investors in the future as younger generations gain more financial influence.”
Other notable survey findings include:
Drivers of Allocation Decisions – Nearly 60% of investors surveyed say they plan to increase their portfolio allocations to sustainable investments in the next year. The main reason, cited by nearly a fourth of investors, is growing confidence that these options offer returns comparable to or better than traditional investments.
Investors also said that seeing the real-world impacts of climate change is a big reason they’re increasing their allocation. Just under a third (31%) plan to maintain their current allocation to sustainable investments, with portfolio diversification given as the most common reason.
Energy Transition – Across all regions, investors ranked renewable energy and energy efficiency as top investment priorities, and over 80% see the energy transition as an opportunity to generate returns. When it came to other sustainable solutions, regional differences emerged. North America respondents placed greater focus on healthcare affordability and innovation, while investors in Europe and APAC put more emphasis on energy storage and battery technology as well as regenerative agriculture and sustainable land use.
Financial Advice – Almost 80% of global investors surveyed are likely to choose a financial advisor or investment platform based on sustainable investing offerings. This is stronger for Gen Z (96%) and Millennials (92%), suggesting that opportunity exists for advisors to differentiate their offerings and help clients meet their sustainability goals, especially as wealth transfers to younger investors in the years to come.
The Sustainable Signals series was launched in 2015 and measures the views of individual investors, institutional investors and corporates on sustainable investing.
