Now in its fifth year, Capital Group’s ESG Global Study has become a go-to source of insight into the investment market’s evolving approach to sustainable investment.

This year’s study, for which CoreData surveyed more than 1,000 investors around the world, sheds light on growing regional divergence, shifts in the investment process, and increasing understanding of the ESG risks related to artificial intelligence.

CLIENT GOALS

Capital Group first engaged CoreData in 2021. At the time, the firm’s ESG capabilities were nascent but growing – and they needed to rapidly build their credibility in the market.

The goal was to create an annual thought leadership study aligned to their strategic objectives of raising brand profile, promoting their expertise, engaging clients across the institutional and intermediary investment markets, and informing product development.

We brought together senior marketing and investment leaders across the business, and gathered expert input from our proprietary panel of institutional investors and intermediaries, to develop a global research programme that would put them at the forefront of the industry ESG debate, year after year.

“We needed to build credibility quickly, and CoreData gave us the platform to do it”

David Cowdell, Managing Director, Marketing, Europe and Asia Client Group

CAMPAIGN

We designed the ESG Global Study with Capital Group’s long-term strategic objectives in mind. This meant ensuring global reach within the investment market, an ability to track and interpret trends within sustainable investment over time, as well as the flexibility to uncover new narratives and attention-grabbing insights as market dynamics evolved.

Our latest study canvassed the views of 1,130 institutional investors and intermediaries across EMEA, North America and Asia-Pacific, collectively overseeing more than $60 trillion in AUM. We also conducted in-depth interviews with ten investment executives drawn from our global panel to gain a deeper understanding of the practical implications of ESG trends for investors.

The campaign’s hero asset – an in-depth white paper – was written and designed by CoreData, with further content and research insights tailored to local markets to support media and client engagement activity.

“We’ve repeated the study each year and even extended the model to fixed income. For us, research-led storytelling has become a blueprint for building brand strength and opening doors with clients”

David Cowdell, Managing Director, Marketing, Europe and Asia Client Group

IMPACT

The study led to hundreds of press articles, a surge in website visits, and growing brand recognition in Europe and Asia. The coverage was worth the equivalent of a six-figure ad spend.

Insights directly informed product decisions under SFDR, supported client meetings, helped secure mandates and underpinned the rapid growth of Capital Group’s ESG fund to €600m AUM.

Annual repetition of the study has continued to build brand credibility and drive client engagement. The success was such that Capital Group decided to partner with CoreData to develop a global fixed income study to support the growth of that product line in a similar way.

• 6-figure ad spend
  • Of equivalent media coverage
• €600m
  • Assets raised in new ESG fund
• 100s
  • Of press articles generated

“CoreData helped us build ESG credibility from a standing start. The Global Study drove press coverage worth a six-figure ad spend, informed product strategy, and supported the rapid growth of a €600m fund”

David Cowdell, Managing Director, Marketing, Europe and Asia Client Group