2025 RIA Advisor RI Insights Study & Environics Research

The 2025 RIA Advisor RI Insights Study, conducted by Environics Research for the Responsible Investment Association (RIA), provides a comprehensive view of how Canadian financial advisors are engaging with responsible investment (RI) in today’s evolving market.

2025 Responsible Investment Association Advisor RI Insights Study

Based on a national survey of 300 retail advisors, the study shows that while overall RI adoption has moderated since 2023 (mostly due to a lack of new advisors entering the space) advisors who are already active in RI remain consistent in their commitment. Growth expectations are softening but remain net positive, and nearly half of advisors support adding RI questions to the Know Your Client process.

This is our second year working with the RIA on their Advisor Insight Study, and I love being able to support this work. It’s fascinating to see how advisors think about and use responsible investing — and even more interesting to compare that with what clients say they want and how institutions are shaping the landscape. The disconnects between those perspectives are often greater than you’d expect!

Lauren Binette

Senior Research Associate, Environics Research

While the service gap between what investor expectations and what advisors are delivering has grown, these insights nonetheless highlight a maturing marketplace, and that advisor education, stronger wholesaler support, and more proactive client conversations can help close that RI service gap.

Environics Research is proud to contribute our expertise in financial services and values-based research to help the industry identify opportunities to strengthen advisor-client alignment and advance responsible investment practices in Canada.

2025 RIA RI Insights Study

Cision News Release