Sustainable Investing Monitor-November 2023
The Bottom Line: Sustainable fund assets declined by $9.3 billion in October, relative ESG performance was positive, but fund launches and sustainable bond issuances lagged. Net Assets: Sustainable Mutual Funds and ETFs Sustainable assets under management attributable to mutual funds and ETFs dropped to $305 billion in October due to market depreciation, for a […]
Sustainable Investing Monitor-October 2023
The Bottom Line: Assets attributable to sustainable mutual funds and ETFs declined to $315.6 billion in September, during which time performance and fund launches lagged. Net Assets: Sustainable Mutual Funds and ETFs New Sustainable Fund Launches Sustainable assets under management attributable to mutual funds and ETFs declined to $331.7 billion, for a month-over-month drop of […]
Labeling the Politics of ESG Funds
The Bottom Line: Critics of ESG investing exhibit a lack of knowledge and awareness of key features of sustainable investing specifically related to ESG integration. Introduction Increasingly, criticism of ESG investing has taken on a political tilt. These arguments often identify ESG funds as a means of ‘state control of the economy and of society’. […]
Sustainable Investing Monitor-September 2023
The Bottom Line: Sustainable funds’ net assets benefited from positive flows, new fund launches held up relative to 2022 while ESG fund indices lagged again.[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”reg” ihc_mb_template=”4″ ] New Sustainable Fund Launches One new sustainable ETF was listed in August versus zero mutual fund launches, excluding additional share classes. The number of fund […]
Sustainable Investing Monitor-August 2023
The Bottom Line: Relative performance results lagged again this month, as did fund formations and quarterly sustainable bond issuances, but sustainable mutual funds gained assets. New Fund Launches The number of new sustainable fund launches, including mutual funds and ETFs in the first seven months of 2023 reached 62, identical to the total number of […]
Inaugural standards issued by International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)
The Bottom Line: ISSB reporting standards covering sustainability-related risks and opportunities companies face over varying time intervals have the potential to achieve widespread adoption worldwide. International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), a unit of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), this week issued its inaugural reporting standards Following an intensive eighteen-month effort, the International Sustainability Standards […]
SEC plans to finalize four sustainable investing and disclosure rules in 2023
The Bottom Line: The SEC will finalize rules in 2023 covering corporate climate disclosures, executive compensation proxy voting, sustainable fund classifications and fund naming conventions. SEC sustainable investing and corporate disclosure rulemaking agenda for 2023 0:00 / 0:00 Listen to this article now Sources: SEC; Sustainable Research and Analysis LLC. Observations: On January 4, 2023, […]
Greenwashing incidents on the rise but likely overstated
The Bottom Line: References to greenwashing appear to be on the rise, but various considerations other than greenwashing may be contributing to the recent uptick. References to greenwashing are on the rise but likely overstated References to greenwashing appear to be on the rise, as illustrated by data along the lines captured by FactSet in […]