There’s a persistent myth in financial circles: that sustainable investing is merely a niche endeavor motivated by idealism, practiced by a minority willing to sacrifice returns for the sake of principle. Recent data from Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing indicates that this narrative is not just wrong—it may be precisely backward.

According to Morgan Stanley’s 2026 Sustainable Signals report, which surveyed 2,250 individual investors across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, 92% of global respondents describe themselves as very or somewhat interested in sustainable investing. That’s up four points from 2025, and it held firm across every region and generation surveyed—including North American investors,…