The Sustainable Signals: Individual Investors series is published annually by the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing. It is designed to identify global market trends in sustainable investing among individual investors, tracking sentiment, portfolio allocations, return expectations, thematic priorities, and perceived barriers over time.

What the series tracks

Each edition of the series measures the attitudes and behaviours of individual investors towards sustainable investing globally. Core areas of coverage include: the level of interest in sustainable investing; the proportion of portfolios allocated to sustainable assets; the reasons driving or deterring allocation decisions; thematic priorities within sustainable investing; and the role of private markets. The 2026 edition also, for the first time, includes a dedicated section on investors in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The series provides year-on-year comparisons, enabling readers to track shifts in investor behaviour and sentiment across regions and generational cohorts, including Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers.

Methodology

The 2026 edition is based on an online survey of 2,250 individual investors conducted by iResearch on behalf of the Institute, from 19 February to 16 March 2026. The global sample is evenly split across North America (750), Europe (750), and Asia Pacific (750). An additional 500 respondents from MENA were surveyed for the first time but are excluded from global totals to maintain comparability with prior editions.

Respondents were required to self-identify as ‘active’ or ‘somewhat active’ investors aged 18–80, holding over $100,000 in investable assets, excluding personal retirement accounts, employer-sponsored retirement accounts, cryptocurrencies, and personal real estate. An exception applied to Gen Z respondents aged 18–28, for whom no minimum asset threshold was required.

Quotas were set by generation and gender to ensure sufficient sample sizes for younger respondents. While the vendor changed from prior editions, the methodology and sample design remained very similar, and results are considered comparable to the 2024 and 2025 editions.

Key findings and themes from the 2026 edition

Headline interest in sustainable investing remains high, with 92% of global respondents expressing interest — up four percentage points from 2025. However, average portfolio allocations declined slightly to 31%, from 33% in 2025, highlighting an ongoing disconnect between expressed sentiment and actual investment behaviour.

Financial returns remain central to investor motivation. Over 80% cite return-related reasons as their primary driver of interest, either through supporting real-world outcomes alongside market-rate returns (45%) or expecting stronger financial performance from sustainable options (40%). Of those planning changes in the next 12 months, 64% intend to increase their sustainable allocation, while 28% plan to maintain current levels.

Thematic priorities are broad-based. A quarter of respondents identify broad-based sustainability (advancing environmental and social goals) as their top priority, followed by financial inclusion and health and wellness at 15% each. Climate action, circular economy, conservation and biodiversity, and diversity and inclusion also feature prominently.

Greenwashing remains the most significant barrier to investment, with 32% rating it a very significant concern and 27% citing it as the main obstacle. Despite this, 79% of respondents say they are likely to select a financial adviser or investment platform based on sustainable investing offerings.

Private markets feature as a dedicated focus in 2026. Forty per cent of investors currently hold private market assets, and a further 34% would like to do so in future. Two-thirds see greater opportunities for sustainable or impact investments in private markets relative to public markets.

MENA respondents share broadly similar views to those in other regions, with over 90% expressing interest in sustainable investing and greenwashing identified as the top barrier. MENA investors show a stronger focus on supporting real-world outcomes alongside market-rate returns.

Relevance and uses for finance professionals

The Sustainable Signals: Individual Investors series provides finance professionals with structured, quantitative data on how individual investors are thinking about and allocating to sustainable investments. The consistent methodology across editions enables tracking of trends in client sentiment over multiple years.

For wealth managers and financial advisers, the series highlights the importance of sustainable investing offerings as a client acquisition and retention differentiator, with nearly four in five respondents indicating they would select an adviser based on sustainable investment capabilities.

The data on return expectations and allocation intentions offers practical insight into client behaviour, including the gap between stated interest and actual portfolio allocation. The dedicated coverage of private markets and MENA adds further relevance for professionals serving clients with diversified or internationally-focused portfolios.

The series can also support product development, client communication, and strategic planning decisions, particularly where firms are seeking to understand how investor priorities across themes such as climate action, economic empowerment, and health and wellness translate into portfolio preferences.