The ESG Hub on the firm’s Wrap platform aims to help advisors plan, review and analyse client portfolios, as new research from the business shows that advisors struggle to identify suitable ESG-aligned options for their clients, even as many plan to expand their sustainable and responsible investment capabilities. 

Advisors polled by abrdn said that clearly identifying assets or funds that align with their clients’ goals was one of the biggest challenges they faced when it came to supporting clients with responsible and sustainable investing (42 per cent), along with ensuring that their own colleagues understood ESG terminology (44 per cent). A third also had difficulties reporting on ESG performance (33 per cent).

This comes as more than two-fifths of firms (43 per cent) said they had plans to offer ESG analysis services to all clients in the future, and as more than two in five continue to review their compliance processes in line with the roll-out of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDRs).

abrdn’s new tool has been developed with advisors to support their existing advice process and aid client conversations on specific ESG themes. It is fully integrated with existing client information to help advisors identify and record a client’s individual ESG preferences.

The ESG Hub data is sourced from third-party industry providers including Morningstar, Trucost MSCI and Sustainalytics. It allows advisors to evaluate their clients' ESG preferences against their live holdings on Wrap and generate personalised ESG reports.

“While advisors plan to deepen the responsible and sustainable investment support they offer their clients, real barriers remain, including when it comes to easily identifying suitable assets and all-important client reporting,” Jonny Black, chief commercial and strategy officer at abrdn, said. “This solution is designed to help tackle these challenges that they’re sharing with us head on and, in doing so, support better outcomes for clients, as well as unlocking efficiencies for advisors themselves and supporting their compliance efforts.” 

The firm also recently announced that from 20 February 2025, the abrdn UK Sustainable and Responsible Investment Equity Fund and the abrdn Global Sustainable and Responsible Investment Equity Fund would be adopting the “Sustainability Focus” label under the FCA's Sustainability Disclosure Requirements. See more commentary here.