Most financial advisers who took part in a recent survey expect a steady shift towards Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) investing post the Coronavirus pandemic.

Standard Life’s bi-annual survey of 250 UK advisers asked firms how their approach to investing will change in the future compared to how they operated before Covid-19.

The poll found more than two thirds of (69%) of advisers think ESG investing is more likely in the future, up from 54% when Standard Life asked advisers the same question in June.

None of the advisers surveyed thought ESG investing was less likely following Covid-19.

Jenny Davidson, head of platform investment proposition at Standard Life said: “The continued shift towards ESG must be accompanied by a debunking of the misconception that ESG hampers a fund’s performance.”

Nearly 1 in 5 advisers (17%) expect active investing to be used more often than passive.

The research suggests advisers expect a continued shift overall towards Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) investing post the pandemic.

Advisers also expect to see increased use of outsourced investment management and risk-rated fund ranges.

When asked which factors would make them more likely to use new investment approaches, including ESG, half of advisers (51%) said more affordable options, four in ten mentioned evidence of higher returns (40%) and a third (32%) said more information on how the approach works.

The findings follow recent research from Boring Money and Standard Life that found more than three quarters (83%) of advised investors say they would value a conversation about investing sustainably, but on average, only 45% of advisers have these conversations with clients.

Nearly a fifth (17%) of advisers in the adviser survey said outsourcing of their investment management was more likely in the future, while 14% said the uptake of risk-rated fund ranges was more likely to happen following Covid-19. Fewer than one in ten (7%) thought high risk over low risk investing would be more likely.

Jenny Davidson, head of platform investment proposition at Standard Life said: “The continued shift towards ESG must be accompanied by a debunking of the misconception that ESG hampers a fund’s performance.”

• Data for Standard Life’s Quest report was collected in October with 250 UK advisers who work with Standard Life taking part.