Assets of sustainable mutual funds and ETFs close 2019 at $1.6 trillion, up from $113.5 billion ten years ago The total net assets of mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETF)(1) sourced to sustainable investing approaches expanded dramatically in the last decade, adding almost $1.5 trillion in the last ten years.
Since the announcement on August 11 and successful placement of Tesla’s $1.80 billion Senior Notes, some disappointment has been expressed by the fact that Tesla didn’t formally qualify as green the company’s newly issued notes.
Three new fund launches bring to six the number of green bond fundsasofNovember2018 Just in the last month, green bond funds doubled in number, with the launch of green bond mutual funds or exchange traded funds (ETFs) by Allianz Global Investors, BlackRock and Teachers Advisors.
The Bottom Line: Touchstone Investments acquires the mutual funds business managed by AIG’s SunAmerica Asset Management and will integrate 12 funds with about $7.5 billion.
Introduction Additional money market funds have jumped onto the sustainable investing[1] parade by launching or converting existing money market funds to reflect the adoption of various sustainable investing approaches, ranging from negative screening (exclusions) to ESG integration, engagement, and even some variations of impact investing.
S&P 500 ESG Index: Another portfolio tool for asset owners and investors The announced launch of the S&P 500 ESG Index on April 8, 2019 gives investors yet another benchmark or tool with which to evaluate the performance of the large cap equity market in the US, qualified on the basis of minimum ESG scores and company exclusions.
Vanguard Social Index Fund Summary Assessment:High Conviction Advised by the Vanguard Group, Inc., this index tracking fund offers an effective US equity-focused sustainable strategy that combines an exclusionary approach along with the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.
Fund Assessment High Conviction TIAA-CREF Fund Review This $1.17 billion actively managed fixed income fund, which is advised by Teachers Advisors, Inc., a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of TIAA, is an intermediate-term investment grade fixed income mutual fund that pursues a unique sustainable investing mandate, through a combination of strategies that relies on external ESG research as well as a proprietary approach, including (1) exclusions from certain companies significantly involved in certain business activities, such as tobacco, military weapons, firearms, nuclear power and gambling, (2) impact investing, including investments in green bonds, and (3) the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.
