BNP Paribas Wealth Management is seeing the expanding appeal of responsible investments amid growing interest among European and US investors to combine financial performance with social and environmental concerns.

"Responsible products are an expanding market and a major source of innovation," says Eléonore Bedel, who is in charge of BNP Paribas' SRI and impact Investing.

"We observe a keen interest in SRI products amongst our European clients, especially in Belgium, the Netherlands and France. US investors are finding responsible investments increasingly appealing, and Bank of the West Wealth Management is developing a platform of responsible products to meet this demand."

BNP Paribas in a statement says it will continue to expand its range of responsible products to include new social and environmental impacts as related financial products arrive on the market.

BNP Paribas Wealth Management's SRI and Impact Investing product was launched in 2007. The assets invested by BNP Paribas Wealth Management through SRI and Impact Investing have grown by 50% annually since 2010, and currently total EUR6.5 billion. They cover sectors as varied as energy efficiency, water treatment and social entrepreneurship.

"The international economic and financial context, the performance record of responsible products, as well as the major future challenges addressed during 'Responsible Investment Week' ahead of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP 21), are strengthening investor appetite for these products," says Elisabeth Karako, head of CSR, Individual Philanthropy and SRI Offerings at the bank. 

To diversify its product range and identify the best products on the market from "Best-in-class" funds to thematic funds and responsible products (impact investing products, structured products, etc.), BNP Paribas Wealth Management rolled out a rating tool, SRIness Rating, which evaluates SRI funds by taking into account the quality of the extra-financial investment process and the responsible approach of the asset management firm. This evaluation is followed by a financial evaluation of the fund.

Using this method, nearly 200 SRI funds were selected out of nearly 2,000 funds available on the market, says BNP.