Over three quarters (77%) of millennials have cited socially responsible and impactful investing as their top priority when considering investment opportunities, according to a global survey.
The study surveyed 1,125 people and was carried out by deVere Group, one of the world's largest independent financial services and advisory organisations, across the UK, Western Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Australia, India, ASEAN and East Asia.
deVere CEO and founder, Nigel Green, said: "This survey underscores that whilst traditional factors - such as anticipated returns (10%), past performance (7%), risk tolerance (4%) and tactical allocation (2%) - are important factors in millennial respondents' investment decision-making, they are no longer enough.
"Indeed, Environmental Social and Governance considerations now sit at the heart of that process."
Green continued: "Millennials appear to be leading the charge in socially responsible and impactful investing. They are keen to look for investment solutions that are progressive and forward-looking.
"And they might be right to do so too. Research has shown that investments that score well in terms of ESG credentials often out-perform the market and have lower volatility over the long-run.
"For this reason and, importantly, because the biggest-ever generational transfer of wealth - likely to be around $30trn - from baby boomers to millennials will take place in the next couple of years, ESG investing is set to grow exponentially in the 2020s.
"As responsible investing becomes increasingly mainstream, and millennials become the major beneficiaries of the transfer of wealth, we can also expect institutional investors, such as pension funds, amongst others, to pile into ESG over the next few years.
"These principles will fundamentally reshape the retail and institutional investment landscape in the next decade."
