Goldman Sachs Group has found that “successful sustainable investment decisions require a human touch that algorithms have so far been unable to match.” This according to a recent article in Bloomberg.

Thomas Konig, Goldman’s Copenhagen-based head of asset management in the Nordic countries, says that for “ESG, activism and stewardship, it requires people.” He adds, “some of it you can make quantitative, but definitely not all of it.”

As such, the article reports that Goldman is adding 40% to its Nordic headcount, adding that “investors in the region are among the most demanding when it comes to ESG, and asset managers are finding they have to adjust their offerings to win business.”

According to Konig, “active management has a role to play again,” good news for a profession the article describes as “plagued by job cuts in recent years.” Goldman’s experience, it says, suggests that ESG might bring with it a revival of active management that will also encompass ETFs. The bank has an “intense pipeline” of new products that it plans to unveil this year, particularly in fixed income.”