[SINGAPORE] A new wave of investors and private banking clients are increasingly demanding sustainable solutions for their portfolios, according to a UBS Group executive.
It’s “a much bigger topic with the second generation but also female investors,” Adrian Zuercher, co-head of global asset allocation and co-head of global investment management Apac at UBS Chief Investment office, said during a panel discussion at the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore on Thursday (Oct 2).
It “might not be the most attractive investment theme currently,” he said. “But the requests we get and the intentions we actually see particularly from newer investors are definitely drifting into a more sustainable part.”
ESG has had a troubled few years during which key themes like renewables suffered under the weight of higher interest rates and a war-fuelled energy crisis.
Against that backdrop, Republicans in the US started attacking the strategy as a “woke” threat to American capitalism, even banning ESG in some states. Under the second Trump administration, ESG has faced a new wave of legal, regulatory and ideological attacks.
Even in Europe, the label has encountered headwinds. After intense pressure from Germany and France, landmark corporate sustainability regulations affecting reporting and due diligence are being wound back. And stricter fund naming rules have led asset managers to drop the ESG label from many of the products they offer.
Still, the underlying themes continue to draw investor interest. Renewable energy projects attracted a record US$386 billion in investment in the first half 2025, up 10 per cent from the same period a year ago, according to BloombergNEF.
“I do believe there will be a revival at one point where we start to see stewardship, ESG become a bigger investment topic,” Zuercher said.
Zuercher said another key trend for the ongoing wealth transfer is the shift towards private markets from public investments. The next generation of clients “want to have as many return drivers as possible,” he said. BLOOMBERG
