SWITZERLAND - Both institutional and retail investors are showing more interest in themed SRI funds than ever before, according to the Zürich-based research company onValues.

Sustainable investment in mutual funds, segregated accounts and structured products doubled over the last year to reach CHF25bn (€15.3bn) at the end of June 2007, onValues found in its latest study of the Swiss SRI market commissioned by Swiss asset managers Ethos, SAM, Sarasin, Swisscanto, UBS, Vontobel and the Zürich-based bank ZKB.

Since December 2006 the market grew by 39% compared to a 17% rise to CHF 12.4bn in the first half of 2006.

"We saw increasing interest in themed SRI products such as water funds," Ivo Knoepfel, founder and managing director of onValues, told IPE. "Interest in these products comes from both institutional and retail clients."

Institutional investors still dominate the demand for sustainable investment products but retail investors were closing in.

In its first study on the Swiss SRI market, released at end-2005, onValues found that private and retail clients made up 30% of investors in the market. By June 2007 their share had risen to 47%.

"The private banking sector especially is much more active in sustainable investment than before," Knoepfel said.

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