Almost eight out of 10 millennials prioritise socially responsible and impact investing, according to a new global survey.

Despite recent data suggesting the take up of socially responsible investing is low, the survey suggests there is an increasing appetite from millennials for their investing to make a better social impact.

Some 77% of millennials - people born from the early 1980s to early 2000s – cite Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing as their ‘top priority’ when considering investment, according to the survey for deVere Group, an international financial adviser and wealth manager.

The poll of 1,125 people was carried out by deVere Group across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Australia, India, ASEAN and East Asia.

deVere chief executive and founder Nigel Green said: “This survey underscores that while traditional factors – such as anticipated returns (10%), past performance (7%), risk tolerance (4%) and tactical allocation (2%) – are important factors in millennial respondents’ investment decision-making, they are no longer enough.

“Environmental Social and Governance considerations now sit at the heart of that process.”

Mr Green said: “Millennials appear to be leading the charge in socially responsible and impactful investing. They are keen to look for investment solutions that are progressive and forward-looking.

He supports the shift and says research has shown that investments that score well in terms of ESG credentials “often out-perform the market and have lower volatility over the long-run.”

He believes that with a huge generational transfer of wealth under way, ESG investing is set to grow “exponentially” in the 2020s.

deVere has  70 offices across the world, 80,000 clients and looks after over £9bn in client assets.