The ESG Phenomenon – ESG-Themed Exchange-Traded Funds, Products Boom

Editorial Staff

20 December 2021

ETFGI
Assets held in exchange-traded funds and products that track ESG investment process reached a record $371 billion at the end of November, taking $16.63 billion of inflows during the month, figures show. The total figure rose by 2.3 per cent from a year earlier.

Since the start of this year, inflows have totalled $146.84 billion, far above the $68.59 billion for the same period a year ago, ETFGI, a firm monitoring development in the space, said in a statement late last week.

The asset increase has been strong – rising 84.3 per cent so far this year, going from $201 billion at the end of 2020, to $371 billion.

The ETF and product business has surged in recent years due to interest in market-tracking, low-cost investment entities in contrast to traditional, and actively managed funds that typically charge a higher fee. To some extent, the bull market in equities over the past 12 years has fuelled the market’s expansion.