Investors see the green in ‘going green,’ survey finds

Investors are becoming interested in environmentally aware companies from an economic rather than a socially conscious perspective, and many are turning to their financial advisers for help in going green.

That’s one of the highlights of a survey to be released Tuesday by New York-based Allianz Global Investors Distributors LLC in which 73% of respondents indicated that they would need to consult their financial adviser for help in environmental investing.

Of the 1,003 investors surveyed online in mid-December, 71% indicated that they viewed environmental-technology companies as a solid buying opportunity, with nearly half planning to make “green” investments in 2008. Half also indicated that they would welcome their adviser’s recommending more environment-related opportunities, while 83% responded that their adviser had never recommended such opportunities.

“Investors are hungry to get in the game and invest in this growing and high-potential sector, but they rightly recognize the value of professional advice,” said Brian Jacobs, managing director and head of sales at Allianz. “This can be a particularly complicated investing decision, as many of the technologies that will help address environmental issues are just beginning to emerge.”

Greater public awareness of environmental issues, including global warming, was one of the reasons Allianz launched the Allianz RCM Global Ecotrends Fund last February, Mr. Jacobs said. From its inception through Jan. 15, the fund was up 39.8%.

More than two-thirds (67%) of the investors surveyed agreed strongly or somewhat with the statement, “Global warming is a serious threat that businesses need to address in order to be successful,” while 84% said indicated a belief that a company’s profitability would be linked increasingly to its ability to address issues of resource sustainability.

Adviser Richard Robb, a managing partner at the Peabody, Mass.-based wealth manager Capital Management Partners LLC, said more of his clients are asking him for advice on environmental investing.

“It seems like green investing is getting some legs,” he said.

On the other hand, Todd Gardenhire, a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based senior vice president of New York-based Smith Barney, who manages more than $125 million in assets, said his clients have not yet expressed any desire for environmental investing.

This year, Allianz will begin an educational campaign for advisers about environmental investing, Mr. Jacobs said.

“Advisers may need help in navigating this developing, technology-intense, competitive sector,” he said.

Andrew Coen can be reached at [email protected].