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NB. This article is part of our recent publication, the study guide Duurzaam beleggen door particulieren bij banken 2025 (available in Dutch only).
Vincent Triesschijn is head of sustainable investing at ABN AMRO and is involved in integrating sustainability into investment decisions, engagement, sustainable investments for clients and the implementation of sustainability-related legislation and regulations. Before joining ABN AMRO, Vincent worked for UBS, J.P. Morgan and Van Lanschot Kempen. Vincent obtained his Master’s degree in sustainability from the University of Cambridge. Vincent is an advisor for sustainable start-ups and helps social enterprises get in touch with talented academics.
What trends does ABN AMRO currently see in sustainable investing among private clients?
Sustainable investing in the Netherlands is bigger than ever. Among private clients and especially among younger clients, there is high growth in impact investing (investments where a specific sustainable goal is set that must also be measurable). I have been attending the annual conference of the global network of impact investors, the GIIN, for years. In the first years, it was a small group of people in the financial sector, and the topic was mainly how we can make impact investing bigger. This year, however, there were 1600 people, and a report revealed that the market for impact investing is now 1.5 trillion US dollars. The biggest challenge is whether there are enough impact investment opportunities to meet all this demand. Also, large pension funds, such as the Dutch ABP, want to invest billions in impact investments. In addition, there is a risk of “greenwashing” or “impact washing”, where investments are presented as more sustainable than they actually are. That is why we closely monitor the impact investment funds that we select for our clients and are transparent about the investments of clients and the impact of the companies or funds in the portfolio. Fortunately, there are more and more investment opportunities; ultimately, it is good news that this market is emerging. Media, such as the FD, are writing more and more about impact investing, which is also making it more widely known to a broader audience.
In addition, there is sometimes also a noticeable change in preferences among private clients. Most clients invest to achieve a good financial investment result and have sustainability preferences. When short-term financial results are disappointing, some clients adjust their sustainability preferences to maximise short-term returns. However, this is a very small group of clients, as most clients invest for the long term. As a bank, we always advise taking financial and non-financial considerations into account when making investment decisions and not looking at these topics in isolation.
How have client preferences and expectations regarding sustainability developed in recent years?
We come from an environment in which sustainable investing was not regulated. This has changed rapidly in recent years. There is now European legislation that requires banks and asset managers to request sustainability preferences from clients and to report transparently on their performance in the area of sustainability. This also makes the definitions used more standardised. Because we, as part of the MiFID (“Markets in Financial Instruments Directive”), ask all asset management clients and clients we advise about their sustainability preferences, we are getting an increasingly better picture of clients’ specific preferences and expectations regarding sustainability.
What becomes clear based on client preferences is that some clients want to invest for financial gain and achieve sustainable goals. These are the clients who opt for impact investing. Other clients have less explicit sustainable goals but still want to minimise sustainability risks. These are the clients who opt for the “ESG Advanced”. Some clients find sustainability less important, but want sustainability risk to be considered in decisions if this is financially demonstrable. These clients often opt for “Starters”, companies that are preparing to become (partly) more sustainable, but are not yet. Some clients initially do not want ESG. However, when they hear that sustainability risks are also financial risks, they usually want us to include this in the mandate.
How does ABN AMRO experience the current SFDR regulation, both internally and from the perspective of the client?
And, logically, clients expect to gain more insight into the sustainability of investments. Especially since they are also explicit about their preferences and expectations. The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”) and the resulting transparency of sustainability information for investors are therefore a positive development. The SFDR is the driving force behind the improved information from investment providers about the sustainability of investments. This enables investors to make investment decisions based on better and comparable information. This information is of great importance to clients and the developments in the market for sustainable investments. At the same time, this information is not always easy for private investors to understand. Therefore, we do our best to provide our clients with information via our website and regular client communication.
The implementation of the SFDR has been a complex task for us, as it has for many other banks, but it has also given us valuable insights and allowed us to reflect on our motivations and considerations that underlie our product offering. We also continue to learn from new reports and findings from supervisors, which provide clearer direction to expectations for sustainability information, such as the ESMA “Fund Name Guidelines”, which has provided useful insights that we incorporate into the development of our offering.
Expectations regarding sustainability in investment products and services are still very much in flux. This also makes it complicated for us as a bank. Although we expect many developments in the field of regulations, for example, with the planned revision of the SFDR, the market-wide implementation of the SFDR is at the same time not yet mature. For example, we continue to see one of the most difficult challenges, which is that, although availability and quality continue to increase, obtaining good and reliable data is still not easy. Therefore, concrete figures remain limited in some cases.
What challenges or opportunities arise from the SFDR in the context of private investors?
It is a huge challenge to find investments that are impactful and that match the risk expectations of our clients. The bar has really been raised in recent years because clients have become more explicit about their expectations. Fortunately, there are more and more impact investments to choose from, and we also have more and more sustainability data at our disposal. Much data is still unavailable, outdated, incomplete and sometimes even incorrect. What helps with this is the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Disclosure, the “CSRD”. More and more companies have to report on their sustainability risks and the extent to which they impact the environment, for example, through greenhouse gas emissions and water use. We can use this information well in the reports to investors, and it also helps us to select investments that are appropriate based on the sustainability preferences that we have asked our clients about. But it remains challenging at the moment because CSRD has not yet been fully implemented, but we are already dealing with the reporting obligations.
A positive development is that there is a more level playing field in Europe. It is easier for our clients to compare sustainable investment services because the definitions are more harmonised and more transparent. In addition, there is really much more attention on sustainability among companies, fund managers and investors. Some market parties complain about the many rules in the field of sustainability, but that is also a signal that things are changing. And that is urgently needed.
Which themes – for example climate, biodiversity, social equality – appeal most to private clients within sustainable investing?
In addition to the Mifid sustainability survey, we also conducted a lot of research among clients on sustainability topics that appeal to them. With more than 5 million clients, we also have a variety of topics that clients find important. Health, poverty, climate and biodiversity are, for example, frequently mentioned topics, especially in relation to developing countries. In addition, topics are mentioned that are more specific to developed countries, such as affordable housing. In fact, all topics as defined in the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, the “SDGs”, are discussed. This framework is recognised worldwide and therefore fits well with investment portfolios and investments worldwide.
That is why we have decided to focus on all SDGs and to use this framework of the United Nations. Based on the sustainable goals, we select investments, determine which changes we want to achieve and set concrete “impact goals”. A common example is reducing greenhouse gases, increasing green turnover or investments or improving conditions in the company’s supply chain. Every company has its points of attention, even if they are committed to sustainable business operations.
What developments does ABN AMRO expect in sustainable investing in the coming years?
Sustainable investing remains a market in development in terms of regulations and customer preferences. Despite attention to sustainability, financial returns remain the top priority for most customers. It is, therefore, vital for us as a bank to consider both financial and sustainability preferences. The investment results of ESG and impact investing will consequently be an important factor in the developments in the coming years. It remains important for us to be transparent and manage customer expectations well.
We expect increasing supply and demand when it comes to impact investing. The fact that pension funds and insurers are also active in this market will ensure further growth and opportunities. In addition, there are also increasing social challenges, so the range of sustainability themes will continue to grow. There is a clear role for the financial sector, which will only become bigger as far as we are concerned.
‘Last but not least,’ we see that our younger customers are increasingly showing interest in impact investing. While some older clients are slowly adjusting investment portfolios based on their sustainability preferences, younger clients often choose impact investing from the start. As our younger clients grow older and increasingly affluent, this will also lead to growth in sustainable investing.
Are there any new products or initiatives in development to respond to the growing demand for thematic impact investing?
With our impact mandate, we are well-positioned regarding the growth of impact investing. This mandate includes public (often listed) and private (non-listed) investments. Because some clients want to increase their allocation to private investments, we will offer additional options for clients for whom it is financially appropriate to invest in ESG and impact funds, such as private equity and private debt. In addition, we will increasingly add impact funds to our investable universe, and the choice and diversification will continue to increase. This will also help to make impact investing increasingly mainstream.
