ESG investments exhibited a remarkable growth over the last decade. As an illustration, a sizeable number of fund managers have now rebranded their mutual funds to signal ESG commitments, and they changed their funds’ names accordingly. A prominent concern raised in recent years is that funds cosmetically change to ESGrelated names merely to attract capital when ESG investing is ‘hot’. Indeed, studies in the early 2000s reported that U.S. mutual funds changed their names to portray investment styles that were ‘hot’ in the market, without actually changing the styles of their portfolios subsequently. In addition, recent studies suggest that funds which signed the Principles for Responsible Investing enjoyed larger money flows without subsequently exhibiting stronger ESG tilts. Not surprisingly, regulators and policy makers are increasingly considering guidelines and policies to ensure that ESGlabeled investments are meaningfully distinctive.
in VBA Journaal door Kayshani Gibbon