UBS wealth executive: New clients will drive ESG revival

A new wave of investors and private banking clients are increasingly demanding sustainable investments for their portfolios, according to a UBS wealth management executive.

It's "a much bigger topic with the second generation but also female investors," Adrian Zuercher, co-head of global asset allocation and co-head of global investment management APAC at UBS' chief investment office, said during a panel discussion at the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore on Thursday.  

It "might not be the most attractive investment theme currently," he said. "But the requests we get and the intentions we actually see particularly from newer investors are definitely drifting into a more sustainable part."

ESG has had a troubled few years during which investments like renewables suffered under the weight of higher interest rates and a war-fueled energy crisis. Against that backdrop, Republicans started attacking the strategy as a "woke" threat to American capitalism, even banning ESG in some states. Under the second Trump administration, ESG has been faced with a new wave of legal, regulatory and ideological attacks.

Even in Europe, the label has encountered headwinds. After intense pressure from Germany and France, landmark corporate sustainability regulations affecting reporting and due diligence are being wound back. And stricter fund naming rules have led asset managers to drop the ESG label from many of the products they offer.

Still, the underlying themes continue to draw investor interest. Renewable-energy projects attracted a record $386 billion in investment in the first half 2025, up 10% from the same period a year ago, according to BloombergNEF.

"I do believe there will be a revival at one point where we start to see stewardship, ESG become a bigger investment topic," Zuercher said.

Zuercher said another key trend for the ongoing wealth transfer is the shift toward private markets from public investments. The next generation of clients "want to have as many return drivers as possible," he said.

Joining an exodus of U.S., Japanese and U.K. banks from the world's biggest climate group for the industry, UBS withdrew from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance in August. It has also extended its time-frame to reach net-zero in its own operations by 10 years to 2035, citing the Credit Suisse acquisition and regulatory guidance.

UBS increased its sustainable investment assets to $296 billion last year, up about 5% from the previous year.