What is transition investing?

87 per cent of affluent investors are keen on this nascent concept, with women and young people showing the strongest interest.

July 22, 2025

3 mins

Sustainable investingSustainabilityWealth & retail banking

Transition investing aims to support and enable the shift to a low-carbon economy.

This includes investing in companies in high-emitting or hard-to-abate sectors like shipping, agriculture and steel, which have credible plans to reduce their carbon emissions and align their business with a net-zero trajectory.

This can also help companies develop business models for the future, helping capture opportunities that can build a low-carbon economy, alongside long-term growth and returns.

Transition investing is a complementary subset of sustainable investing, which encompasses a broader range of investments aligned with environmental, social and governance principles.

Strong interest

Our survey findings from Sustainable Banking Report 2025 titled “Transition investing: the next wealth frontier?” reveals strong interest in transition investing. Among 1,600 high-net-worth (HNW) investors surveyed across eight markets – Hong Kong, India, Mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates – 87 per cent are interested in transition investing, higher than the 83 per cent who express interest in sustainable investing.

Notably, when focusing on respondents who described themselves as “very interested”, the difference becomes even more pronounced: 59 per cent for transition investing compared to 49 per cent for sustainable investing.

Interest also varies by age and gender. Overall, women demonstrate strong interest in transition investing (77 per cent) compared to men (56 per cent), a pattern that also emerged when respondents were asked about sustainable investing, with 70 per cent of women indicating strong interest versus 46 per cent of men.

This reflects a gender gap in enthusiasm, consistent with industry research that women are more likely to prioritise impact investments.

Our research also uncovers a generational gap in transition investing interest – with two-thirds of next generation high-net-worth individuals aged 25 to 39 years old – indicating strong interest compared to older counterparts (54 per cent).