This year’s Responsible Investment Benchmark Report shows that the Australian responsible investment market continues to grow. Responsible Investment AUM increased by $298 billion to $1,281 billion in 2020, while the AUM managed by the remainder of the market decreased by $234 billion to $1,918 billion.

While the majority of the investment market claims to be responsible (89%), funds with leading responsible investment practices (Responsible Investment Leaders) have increased substantially in AUM, growing by 30% in 2020. This inflow of capital has come while the remainder of the market has seen AUM shrink by 11%, indicating a shift toward funds demonstrating leading responsible investment practices.

The proportion of Responsible Investment AUM to Total Managed Funds in Australia was 40% as of December 2020, compared to 31% in 2019. The growth of the Australian responsible investment market, including the rise of Responsible Investment AUM as a proportion of Total Managed Funds, mirrors global trends. The Global Sustainable Investment Review 2020 shows that sustainable investments have reached US$35.3 trillion in assets under management, now equating to 36% of all professionally managed assets.