Relationship managers for high net worth individuals have said they need more data to understand ESG impact and engage more with their clients on the issue.
Some 41 per cent of HNWs interviewed by Capgemini said investing for ESG impact is their top priority, with 63 per cent saying they had requested ESG scores for their assets.
However, 40 per cent of the relationship managers surveyed said they require more data to understand the impact of ESG, and just under half said they need more ESG information in order to engage effectively with clients.
A lack of digital tools is also limiting relationship managers from providing timely advice and expertise, the report said, eating into time that they could be spending with clients.
One in three executives said their firm’s “digital maturity” was high, with 45 per cent saying the cost per relationship manager was increasing due to inefficiencies.
“Wealth management firms are at a critical inflection point as the macroenvironment is forcing a shift in mindset and business models to drive sustainable revenue growth,” said Nilesh Vaidya, global head of banking and capital markets at Capgemini.
“Their success will be tied towards solving issues relating to digital immaturity in the wealth value chain.”
The report questioned 3,171 high net worth individuals and 800 relationship managers across 11 countries.
The quality of ESG data has been an issue for asset and wealth managers for years.
In March, the chief executive of JO Hambro Capital Management said the company had invested in its own ESG data team because the data from providers had gaps.
“We have had to create our own sets of data.
“We have been using some data providers but we found there to be huge gaps in the data so it was very difficult to map the whole portfolio,” Alexandra Altinger said.
"You cannot go to the client and say 'there is 15 per cent of the fund where no one knows how to map it' so we realised very quickly that we needed to invest in our own data."
The Treasury has released a consultation on the potential regulation of ESG ratings providers, though it only covers the ratings providers themselves, and not those who provide the data.
The FCA has previously warned that there was a low correlation between different providers’ ratings on any given entity.
Some industry commentators have said ESG ratings should be viewed as opinions.
sally.hickey@ft.com
