ESG-Integrated Funds Continuing to Draw Assets

A new report from Morningstar notes major asset gains in 2019 for funds adding ESG criteria to their investment process. The funds were not “full-fledged sustainable investments,” according to the report, but were conventional funds that say they consider ESG factors in their investment process. Morningstar reports there were 564 of these funds with $933 billion in assets under management at the end of 2019. Most (302) are equity funds, spanning U.S., international developed, and emerging markets. Another 223 of the funds are fixed-income funds and the balance constituted allocation, commodities, and convertibles funds. The Wall Street Journal noted that with current market volatility investors are likely to have a sharper focus on ESG factors.