Throughout the year, we regularly speak with fund managers, companies and policymakers on the issues relevant to your investments.
To focus this engagement on areas that matter most to clients, we surveyed a representative sample of around 2,000 clients at the end of 2025.
We first wanted to understand how important responsible and values-aligned investing is to clients.
Responsible investing includes everything from analysing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risks and opportunities to investing in companies that make a positive, measurable impact.
This article isn’t personal advice. If you’re not sure whether an investment is right for you please seek advice.
75% of survey respondents think it’s important their investments reflect their values, with almost a third expressing it’s very or extremely important.
‘Responsible investing’ resonates far more with women, with 47% agreeing it’s very or extremely important their investments reflect their values, compared to just 28% of men.
Most clients say improving long-term financial returns is their primary reason for choosing responsible investing, believing it can enhance performance. Only 7% say they would not consider responsible investing, down 1% from last year.
The gender difference suggests women consider the ethical and social outcomes of responsible investing more, like avoiding harmful practices and supporting positive change. Men tend to focus on the financial case for responsible investing, prioritising long-term returns – or reject the concept altogether.
In the free text response, some clients expressed that they felt responsible investing and financial freedom could not be achieved together.
A large majority of respondents see responsible business behaviour as a baseline expectation for companies they invest in.
85% agree or strongly agree that they care about companies being transparent, accountable and ethically managed. Equally, they care how companies support the fair treatment and wellbeing of employees and communities.
Three quarters of respondents care about the impact companies have on the environment, including their actions on climate change and resource use.
Which ESG issues are important to HL clients?
Overall, respondents care the most about cyber security, anti-corruption and anti-bribery, and environmental issues.
Younger investors tend to care most about environmental issues such as biodiversity loss and deforestation. In contrast, older clients place greater emphasis on governance and stability, with nearly all survey respondents aged 80+ also recognising cybersecurity as an important issue.
Key:
Green – Environmental
Red – Social
Governance – Blue
ESG issues which respondents consider extremely important, including gender and age cohorts:
Compared with previous years, the number of respondents rating issues as “extremely important” rose for biodiversity loss and for security and governance issues such as anti-corruption, corporate governance, and cybersecurity. It declined for more politicised issues including diversity, equity and inclusion, and climate change.
What do investors want to exclude from their portfolios?
Over 40% of respondents are uncomfortable with exposure to sectors and activities such as deforestation, tobacco, animal testing and gambling.
Whereas over 60% are comfortable investing in areas including nuclear energy, alcohol, oil and gas, and defence.
Men are generally less concerned about exposure to so-called ‘sin’ sectors, while women are more likely to favour exclusions.
Client comfort with investment exposure to defence-related activities has increased markedly over time. This may reflect changing perceptions of defence amid geopolitical tensions.
Defence seems to increasingly be viewed as a necessary component of national security and protection, rather than solely a controversial exposure.
To read more of our results and how we use them to prioritise engagements with companies, fund managers and policymakers, please see our 2025 Stewardship and Engagement Report.