Aviva’s Working Lives Report 2022: The Big Squeeze(1) has found four out of five (80%) employers compared to 65% of employees think it is important that a workplace pension fund is invested responsibly. The research also found a further 19% of employees said responsible investment(2) is important but only as long as it does not impact the performance of their funds. However, over half (55%) of employees do not know if their workplace pension fund is invested responsibly.

Just over a third (34%) of employers think it is essential for the default pension fund to be invested responsibly. However, there are more – just under half (46%) – that think it is important, but not essential.

Maiyuresh Rajah, head of investment strategy and propositions at Aviva, said: “It could be that employees and employers either consider return on investment more important than having funds invested responsibly, or that they see them as mutually exclusive in that ‘you cannot have both’.

“ESG factors are material sources of both managing investment risk and out-performance opportunities for customers. We believe integration and alignment of ESG throughout investment solutions is essential and, over the long-term, will lead to superior investment returns.

“Investment strategies that manage their social and environmental impacts and provide solutions to support the transition to a sustainable future for people and the planet should provide positive investment and sustainability outcomes. The landscape in which companies operate is changing and those that align to the transition and manage the associated risks – be that policy, regulation or reputational – will outperform.”

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