On 16 April Novethic published its Year Indicator of the sustainable finance funds distributed in France. The dynamics of this market remain strong and show a 11% growth between 2017 and 2018. Novethic lists 488 sustainable funds, representing €149bn of assets under management, less than half of which have an SRI label.
The diversity of the marketing terminologies used to describe sustainable funds could complicate savers’ adhesion whilst the PACTE Act provides for the massive dissemination of ISR funds through life insurance as early as 2020*. The acronym ISR - investissement socialement responsable (socially responsible investment) - is not well-known to savers.
Explaining in simple and easily-accessible terms that these are financial products that include environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects would be all the more difficult for client advisors as over 70% of ISR labelled funds do not contain the term ISR in their name. An analysis of ISR labelled funds reveals that over a third of these funds - i.e. over a quarter of outstanding amounts - follow an environmental, social or multi-topical approach which falls more and more in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set out by the UN.
The table drafted by Novethic in its 2018 Indicator demonstrates the need to support the dissemination of labelled products.
* The PACTE act plans to include at least one ISR labelled fund in all life insurance contracts as of 2020.