Original, independent, thought leadership

November commentary: Green bond funds

The Bottom Line:  Green bond funds added $60.7 million in November while green bond issuance flagged as COP 26 concluded and Y-T-D volume reached record. Summary Green bond funds added $60.7 million in November, recovering from sluggish gains over the last two months, and ending the last month of the year at almost $1.5 billion […]

October commentary: Green bond funds

The Bottom Line:  Green bond funds ended October with $1.43 billion in assets and the Glasgow Climate Pact will stimulate issuance of more sustainable bonds. Growth in green bond fund assets slowed in the last two months, adding $3.2 million in October, a narrow increase of 0.2%, to end month at $1.43 billion The net […]

September commentary: Green bond funds

The Bottom Line: Green investment funds gained only $7.5 million while green bonds scored big by adding $72.3 billion and pushing volume to $349.5 billion. Summary Assets of seven green funds, including five mutual funds and two ETFs, gained a modest $7.5 million, or 1%, in September, to end the month at $1.43 billion in […]

July commentary: Green bond funds

The Bottom Line: Green bond fund assets bounced back in July, adding $40.9 million in net assets as funds posted an average gain of 0.98%. Summary Gains in green bond fund assets bounced back to average 2021 levels, adding $40.9 million in net assets, or a month-over-month increase of 3% to end the month of […]

June 2021 Commentary: Green bond funds

The Bottom Line: Net assets of green bond funds were flat in June, but registered an average gain of 50 bps, falling behind market indices. Summary Green bond funds were flat in terms of assets under management on a net basis in June, just falling short of offsetting an average 50 bps increase in total […]

May 2021 Commentary: Green bond funds

The Bottom Line: Green bond funds added $35.9 million in assets to $1,324.7 million in May 2021 while recording an average return gain of 0.29%. Summary Green bond funds added $35.9 million in assets during the month of May 2021, ending the month at $1,324.7 billion.  This represents a gain of 3% relative to last […]

March 2021 Commentary: Green bond funds and green bonds

The Bottom Line:  Assets of green bond funds end March 2021 at another high of $1.3 billion; green bonds bounced back to $163.1 in Q1. Assets of green bond funds gain $47.8 million to end March 2021 at another high of $1.3 billion Assets of green bond funds in the US reached $1,266.3 million at […]

February 2021 Commentary: Green bond funds and green bonds

The Bottom Line:  Green bond funds recorded another gain in assets under management to reach $1.2 billion on the back of negative returns in February. Green bond fund assets post gains even as total return performance in February drops an average -1.30% Green bond funds, including mutual funds and ETFs, recorded another gain in assets […]

Research

Research and analysis to keep sustainable investors up to-date on a broad range of topics that include trends and developments in sustainable investing and sustainable finance, regulatory updates, performance results and considerations, investing through index funds and actively managed portfolios, asset allocation updates, expenses, ESG ratings and data, company and product news, green, social and sustainable bonds, green bond funds as well as reporting and disclosure practices, to name just a few.

A continuously updated Funds Directory is also available to investors.  This is intended to become a comprehensive listing of sustainable mutual funds, ETFs and other investment products along with a description of their sustainable investing approaches as set out in fund prospectuses and related regulatory filings.

Getting started

Many questions have surfaced in recent years regarding sustainable and ESG investing.  Here, investors and financial intermediaries will find materials that describe the various approaches to sustainable investing and their implementation.  While sustainable investing approaches vary and they have thus far defied universally accepted definitions, many practitioners agree that they fall into the following broad categories:  Values-based investing, investing via exclusions, impact investing, thematic investments and ESG integration.  In conjunction with each of these approaches, investors may also adopt various issuer engagement procedures and proxy voting practices.  That said, sustainable investing approaches will continue to evolve.

In addition to periodic updates regarding sustainable investing and how this form of investing is evolving, investors and financial intermediaries interested in implementing a sustainable investing approach will also find source materials that cover basic investing themes as well as asset allocation tactics.

Inesting ideas

Thoughts and ideas targeting sustainable investing strategies executed through various registered and non-registered sustainable investment funds and products such as mutual funds, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), closed-end funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Unit Investment Trusts (UITs). Coverage extends to investment management firms as well as fund groups. 

Independent source for sustainable investment management company research, analysis, opinions and sustainable fund disclosure assessments