Interest in socially responsible investing (SRI), alsoknown as environmental, social and governance (ESG), ison the rise, and while it may not yet make up a huge part ofinvestments in defined contribution plans, that may be changing—ifnot now, in the near future.

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A Spectrem Group report pointed out that while some planparticipants are strongly committed to including SRI/ESG investments in their portfolios, othersare not, and it varies by age group and by sex.

For instance, while slightly more than half—51 percent—say theydo not have SRI investments in their portfolios, 30 percent havenearly a quarter—24 percent—of their investments in such offerings.Another 14 percent devote substantially more to SRI: 25–49percent.

The potential for additional growth is there, considering thatas of the end of 2013, more than one out of every six dollars underprofessional management in the U.S.—$6.57 trillion—was invested inSRI strategies.

That’s according to the US SIF Foundation’s 2014 “Report onSustainable and Responsible Investing Trends in the United States,”which also said that foundations are boosting “their practice ofmission investing—using a variety of strategies to create positivesocial impact aligned with their mission.”

The report said, “The individuals, institutions, investmentcompanies, money managers and financial institutions that practiceSRI seek to achieve long-term competitive financial returnstogether with positive societal impact. SRI strategies can beapplied across asset classes to promote stronger corporate socialresponsibility, build long-term value for companies and theirstakeholders, and foster businesses or introduce products that willyield community and environmental benefits.”

And while institutions may have a substantial influence on theinvestments within their portfolios, that doesn’t mean thatindividual plan participants don’t want to move towardSRI/ESG-focused assets.

In fact, Spectrem’s study found that older DC plan participants,in particular, are the ones likely to already have the largestshare of their portfolios devoted to SRI: 21 percent of WWIIgeneration households, it said, have devoted 25–49 percent of theirportfolios to them.

And women are more likely than men to have at least a quarter toa half of their portfolios in SRI (18 percent compared with 10percent).

A Cerulli Associates report found that ESG/SRI “came into its own”in 2015, “as the industry began to see more mainstreamacceptance.”

Also, research from Calvert Investments found that workers given thechoice of SRI within their plans felt better about their employersthan those who did not have the option, and:

• 66 percent of participants in plans offering SRI as an optionsaid they were “highly satisfied,” compared with just 44 percent ofthose whose employers didn’t provide SRI in the plan, and

• 81 percent of millennials said they would opt for it, once theyunderstood what it was.