New analysis conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Path Financial has found that most UK grandparents are worried about the world their grandchildren will inherit, yet most don’t know what they are invested in.

The survey, which polled 2,000 UK grandparents, found that almost half of respondents (45%) said they were ‘very concerned’ about the future world their grandchildren will inherit, whilst another 40% said they were ‘fairly concerned’. In contrast, just 9% said they were ‘not very concerned’ and 3% said they were ‘not at all concerned’. 3% of respondents said they were not sure.

Respondents were also asked about their investments, and whether they know which funds their money is invested in. Worryingly, 3 in 5 respondents (59%) didn’t know where their money was invested, with just 13% estimating they were invested in mainly or fully ‘green funds’.

Ethical financial advisers in the UK worry that most people do not know what their money is invested in – whether that’s through private or workplace pensions, or other investments. There is £3 trillion in UK pensions, according to Make My Money Matter, and currently British pension schemes invest a staggering £88 billion of that into fossil fuel companies, which equates to roughly £3,000 per pension holder.

This comes following reports that 2024 was the hottest year on record, sending the planet past the internationally agreed target of 1.5C of heating for the first time ever. This heating, which is caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, is in part fuelled by our pensions.

David Macdonald, founder of Path Financial, says:

One of the key issues here is a lack of financial knowledge and awareness. Fossil fuel giants continue to make billions from the general public’s lack of awareness, and pension providers need to do more to make people aware of their choices.

The survey also suggests that over half of UK grandparents would consider moving some of their money out of polluting industries if their grandchildren asked them to. 34% of respondents said they would listen to their grandchildren’s concerns and might make some greener investment choices, and another 17% said if their grandchildren felt strongly then they would be very likely to move their money.

This shows that grandparents overwhelmingly do care about their grandchildren’s futures, and many would be willing to make these crucial changes to improve the current outlook. But there is a clear disconnect with what people know about their finances, and where their money is invested. We’re confident if more people knew the answer to climate change could lie in their purses, they would do the right thing for their grandkids futures.