Sustainable municipal bond fund investors stay firm
The Bottom Line: Sustainable municipal bond fund investors have taken notice of potential buying opportunities in municipal bonds and stayed firm even as returns plunged. 0:00 / 0:00 Notes of explanation: 12/31/2021 ETF assets exclude the Franklin Municipal Green Bond Fund that was rebranded and renamed in early May. Fund assets source: Morningstar Direct. Research: […]
Target date funds suffer steep total return declines
The Bottom Line: Sustainable target date funds suffered steep total return declines to September 30, 2022, but more attractive valuations offer upside potential for long-term investors. 0:00 / 0:00 Investment Manager/Fund Fund Structure Start Year Assets ($M) Expense Ratios Sustainable Investment Strategy BlackRock Fund Advisors/ BlackRock LifePath ESG Index Fund Largely affiliated sustainable passively managed ETFs […]
Sustainable fixed income ETFs gain assets
The Bottom Line: Facing strong headwinds, sustainable fixed income ETFs experienced net inflows on a year-to-date basis to September 30th while equity funds sustained outflows. 0:00 / 0:00 Sustainable fixed income ETFs: Top 5 ETFs based on assets gains and bottom 5 ETFs by assets declines year-to-date to September 30, 2022Notes of Explanation: *Index tracking […]
New fund launches in Q3 2022 include infrastructure options
The Bottom Line: Smallest number of funds launched in Q3 2022, but new launches include two sustainable infrastructure funds using different approaches to qualifying companies. 0:00 / 0:00 Quarterly # of mutual funds and ETFs launched between Jan. 1, 2022 – Sept. 30, 2022Notes of Explanation: New mutual funds data excludes the addition of share […]
Performance advantage of ESG screened indices is narrowing
The Bottom Line: Long-term performance through September continues to support portfolios informed by or indexed to ESG screened international benchmarks, however, their advantage is narrowing. 0:00 / 0:00 Intermediate-to-long-term performance differential: Selected ESG screened indices vs. conventional indices: Trailing 3, 5 and 10-years to September 30, 2022Notes of Explanation: The six MSCI ESG indices include […]
Recent developments impacting ESG strategies
The Bottom Line: Dow Jones survey reports that recent developments like the pandemic, the Ukraine conflict and the energy crisis are influencing sustainable investing practices. 0:00 / 0:00 Developments impacting the strategic thinking of senior managers around ESG strategies Notes of Explanation: Dow Jones collaborated with Coleman Parkes, a B2B market research specialist, to conduct […]
Shelter from the storm with sustainable money funds
The Bottom Line: Money market funds are benefiting from rising interest rates and offer investors a safe haven from declines in stock and bond prices. Total return performance of leading sustainable money market funds: 1- and 12-monthsNotes of Explanation: Total return performance arrayed based on trailing 12-month results through August 31, 2022, posted by the […]
Actively managed ETF launches tick up even during period of underperformance
The Bottom Line: Even as the majority of US and international equity managers continue to underperform, new launches of actively managed sustainable ETFs tick up. Observations According to the just released S&P Dow Jones Indices SPIVA report¹ that measures the performance of actively managed funds against their relevant S&P index benchmarks, 49% of actively managed […]