A new survey by MSCI shows that 90% of the largest fund managers increased the integration of ESG into their funds after the onset of coronavirus.

The MSCI 2021 Global Institutional Investor Survey includes responses from 200 asset owner institutions with AUM of $18 trillion. These include sovereign wealth funds, insurers, endowments/foundations, and pension funds. 77% of investors increased ESG investments “significantly” or “moderately” in response to COVID-19, with this figure rising to 90% for the largest institutions (over $200 billion of assets).

78% of US investors said they would increase ESG investment either significantly or moderately as a response to COVID-19, while the figure was 79% and 68% in Asia-Pacific and EMEA, respectively. All investors said they are putting greater emphasis on the “S” in ESG, with over a third (36%) wanting “Social” to comprise a larger proportion of the mix in 2021.

Almost a third (31%) of institutional investors with over $200 billion of assets said climate risk will have the greatest impact on the way the organization invests over the next three to five years, while 14% believe increasing sophistication of ESG measurement will have the greatest impact.