Sustainable finance: interesting topic! But advisors and investors need to talk about it more! Consob and Roma Tre University published the last Report on the financial advisor-investor relationship devoted to sustainability and investments

When it comes to sustainable investments, financial advisors and their clients still understand each other poorly. Investors are interested in sustainable investments, nevertheless there are widespread doubts about the risks of greenwashing, i.e. the actual achievement of environmental and social objectives.

The topic of sustainable finance is still new to be explored: advisors are increasingly called upon to play a role as financial educators and there is room for improvement in the relationship among professionals and investors. On other issues – e.g. the investment approach and the risk preferences exhibited by investors – a higher degree of agreement was found.

These are the main findings of the study (2024 Report on the advisor-client relationship. Mirroring analysis on sustainability and investments) realised by Consob together with the University of Roma Tre. The fourth edition of the survey, as usual, is based on the so-called 'mirroring' approach, which consists of submitting the same questionnaire to both advisors and their clients, and then analysing the similarities and misalignments in the responses. In line with previous years' editions, the research focuses on sustainability issues, summarised in the acronym ESG: E (Environment), S (Social) and G (Governance).

The Report was prepared by Paola Soccorso (CONSOB) and Massimo Caratelli (Roma Tre University) and was realised thanks to ANASF (Associazione Italiana Consulenti Finanziari), the Italian association of financial advisors, as well as the advisors and their clients who joined the survey.