Institutional investors see growing ESG focus from structured credit

Written by Adam Cadle

23/08/2022

Some 95% of institutional investors in Europe and the US agree with the view that the bespoke nature of alternative credit presents a viable option for investors to make a positive social and environmental impact by educating smaller companies in the financing market, according to latest research published by Aeon Investments.

The research showed that some two thirds (66%) of those surveyed believe that over the next two years real estate lenders will increasingly have closer ongoing engagement with borrowers through the life of the loans they originate, looking at the removal of harmful materials, monitoring of delivery of social housing goals, and mitigation strategies around flood risks, for example.

Seventy-six per cent of institutional investors believe that between now and 2024 real estate lenders will increasingly offer much better terms to projects with exemplary ESG credentials. Some 68% of those surveyed believe that the gulf between the financing available to real estate projects at either end of the ESG scale is set to widen rapidly.

Khalid Khan, managing director at Aeon Investments, said: The structured credit market is fully embracing ESG. Although there is still much work to do here, and the industry needs to safeguard itself against claims of greenwashing, there is no doubt, for example, that those real estate projects with poor ESG credentials will increasingly face issues accessing finance, resulting in limited options and punitive borrowing terms. This will cascade down in the structured credit market.”

Aeon Investments commissioned the market research company Pureprofile to interview 100 institutional investors across the UK, USA, Germany, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, which collectively have around US$574bn in assets under management (AuM).

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