Original, independent, thought leadership
Black and white numbers background. 3d rendered illustration

Sustainable Funds Monthly Cash Flows Summary Report: April 2019

For the sixth consecutive month, sustainable funds, including mutual funds, ETFs and ETNs, registered another monthly all-time high of $733.5 billion in assets under management as of April 30, 2019.  A total of $106.0 billion in net assets were added in April versus net additions of $137.2 billion during the month of March and net…

Share This Article:

SRI funds add $106 billion and end April with $733.5 billion in assets under management

For the sixth consecutive month, sustainable funds, including mutual funds, ETFs and ETNs, registered another monthly all-time high of $733.5 billion in assets under management as of April 30, 2019.  A total of $106.0 billion in net assets were added in April versus net additions of $137.2 billion during the month of March and net additions of $45.3 billion and $49.8 billion, respectively, in January and February.  Of this sum in April, $85.2 billion, or 80.5% of the total, is attributable to re-branded or repurposed funds, an estimated $18.2 billion, or 17.2%, is sourced to market movement while an estimated $2.5 billion, or 2.3%, is due to net new cash flows.

Sustainable mutual funds versus ETFs

Sustainable mutual fund assets and their corresponding share classes, a combined total of 1,986 funds/share classes, added $105.2 billion, for a gain of 14.6%, while the 96 ETFs, including two newly launched ETFs, expanded by $704.8 million, or 5.5%.

Equity and related funds, at $627.5 billion, account for a combined 85.6% of total mutual fund, ETF and ETN assets under management. At the same time, $105.2 billion is invested in fixed income funds, including money market funds, taxable as well as municipal funds.  Refer to Chart 1a.

Sustainable mutual funds, ETFs and ETNs assets under management

New Funds in April:  Two new funds launched and two new ETFs

Two new sustainable mutual funds and a total number of eight share classes, as well as two exchange traded funds, were launched in April, adding $6.0 million in net assets. This compares to a single fund and one ETF that were launched in April 2018.

That said, a similar number of sustainable mutual funds were launched over the four month to April time period in 2018 while so far this year two ETFs were brought to market, both in April, versus three during the same time interval last year.  At the same time, 37 new mutual fund share classes were launched this year versus 14 last year.  Refer to Chart 1b.

New sustainable mutual funds, ETFs and ETNs launches

Repurposed or re-branded funds:  At $85.2 billion, second largest inflow so far this year

Eight fund firms repurposed or re-branded existing funds in April, including four entirely new fund firms.  These new funds, a total of 49 and 152 share classes, added $85.2 billion in assets.  This represents the second largest inflow so far this year attributable to repurposed funds as compared to $131.4 billion recorded in March.   Refer to Table 1.

Largest Fund Groups:  Top 20 sustainable fund groups account for 88.8% of net assets

The largest fund groups represent $651.8 billion or 88.8% of net assets under management. Franklin Templeton, previously ranked 7th in terms of sustainable assets, moved up to rank 3rd as the firm repurposed $46.2 billion in fund assets.  Refer to Table  2.

American Funds continues in the lead with its Washington Mutual Fund and the more recently added American Mutual Fund that exclude alcohol and tobacco stocks, but its market share has shrunk since the start of the year from 38.4% to 23.6% of sustainable assets under management even as the second fund was added.

Largest sustainable funds by net assets account for $300.8 billion or 41.0% of assets in segment

The largest funds by net assets as of April 30, 2019, including all related share classes, account for $300.8 billion in net assets, or 41.0% of the sustainable segment’s total assets under management.  Refer to Table 3.

For a more in-depth analysis of April’s cash flows and additional details regarding new funds and their strategies, refer to Sustainable Monthly Cash Flows In-Depth Report: April 2019 posted in the Sustainableinvest Premium section of the website by month-end.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
$99.99
PER YEAR

Premium Articles Access Priority Support 1 Fixed Price

Free Trial
30 Day

Access to All Data No Credit Card Required Cancel Any Time

9.99
Monthly

Access to Premium Articles Priority Support Save 25%


Sign up to free newsletters.


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

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