Recently, the Institute for Sustainable Investing at Morgan Stanley released the "2025 Sustainable Signals: Global Individual Investor Survey Report", which revealed that global sustainable investment is accelerating from "concept recognition" to "practical implementation" through a survey of 1,765 active investors with a net worth of more than US$100,000 and an age distribution of 18-80 years old. It is revealed that global sustainable investment is accelerating from "concept recognition" to "practical implementation", and young investors have become the key driving force, while clean energy transformation and climate action are firmly at the top of the investment priority list.

Ⅰ. Global interest is high: 88% of investors "bet" on sustainability, and Generation Z and Millennials are the main force

1. Interest spans generations and regions

- 88% of investors worldwide are interested in sustainable investing, with APAC (92%), Europe (88%) and North America (84%) all performing strongly.

- The younger generation is "leading by a large margin": Generation Z (99%) and millennials (97%) are the most interested, with 72% of Generation Z and 69% of millennials expressing "very interested", far exceeding the baby boomers (23%).

(Image source: Morgan Stanley institute for sustainable investing "Sustainable Signals-INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS 2025")

2. Motivation differentiation: the game between values ​​and returns

- North America and APAC: 45% of investors take "supporting real-world outcomes" as their primary goal.

- Europe: 40% pay more attention to "the potential for excess financial returns from sustainable investments", highlighting the confidence of mature markets in the profitability of ESG.

Ⅱ. Investment behavior: the tide of increasing allocations is coming, but trust and performance are still obstacles

1. More than half of investors plan to increase their allocations

- 59% of global investors plan to increase sustainable allocations in the next year, and only 3% plan to reduce them.

- Aggressive deployment of the younger generation: 87% of Generation Z and 76% of Millennials plan to increase their allocation, while only 31% of Baby Boomers do.

2. Motivation for increasing allocation: dual drive of confidence and crisis

- Increased confidence in returns: 24% of investors increased their holdings because "sustainable investment returns are comparable to traditional assets", especially in the APAC region.

- Climate crisis forced: Baby Boomers listed "the real impact of climate change" as the primary reason for increasing their allocation.

3. Obstacles: The shadow of green reshuffle is hard to dispel

- Nearly 70% of investors are concerned about the authenticity of corporate ESG statements, and 64% are skeptical about the performance of sustainable investments, indicating that the market is still in a "trust reconstruction period".

Ⅲ. Generational differences: Young investors "want both", forcing the industry to innovate

1. More aggressive actions and more significant obstacles

- Holdings: 51% of Generation Z and 45% of Millennials have allocated 21%-50% of their assets to sustainable fields.

- Clear pain points: Millennials and Generation Z believe that knowledge, lack of products and lack of advice are major or quite major obstacles, with the proportion of these three being about 60%, higher than Generation X (average 50%) and Baby Boomers (average 46%).

2. Upgraded service demand

- 90% of young investors regard "sustainable investment services" as the core criterion for selecting financial advisors, far exceeding Baby Boomers (52%).

- Inspiration: Wealth management institutions need to accelerate the creation of ESG investment research capabilities and product matrix to compete for young customers.

IV. Investment theme: Clean energy is far ahead, and regional differentiation hides opportunities

1. Global consensus: Energy transformation = wealth code

- 84% of investors regard clean energy transformation as a "return opportunity", and 76% of APAC investors support "climate goals take precedence over energy security".

- Traditional energy threshold: 60% of investors require companies to formulate clear emission reduction plans, otherwise they will refuse to invest.

2. Regional characteristics: layout according to local conditions

- North America: focus on medical innovation (such as affordable medical plans, plastic substitutes).

- Europe: betting on nuclear energy, energy storage technology and regenerative agriculture.

- APAC: Climate adaptation (26%) and sustainable building materials (25%) have become unique tracks, reflecting the anxiety of survival under extreme weather.

V. Corporate responsibility: more than 80% of investors require "environment + society" dual actions

1. Investment decision-making standards

- Transparency, emission reduction, supply chain ethics, and employee rights have become core considerations.

- Board diversity is at the bottom (69%), but young investors attach significantly more importance to it.

2. Corporate action pressure

- More than 80% of investors require companies to solve environmental problems, and more than 2/3 call for attention to social issues. ESG practice has become an "entry ticket".

Morgan Stanley's report reveals the trend of accelerating the transformation of sustainable investment from "interest" to "action". Clean energy, emission reduction and diversification are universal needs, but generational and regional differences require financial institutions to provide customized solutions. In the future, the market needs to make breakthroughs in return credibility, product richness and transparency to unleash the potential of sustainable investment.

Author：Qinger