BlackRock, State Street Among Money Managers Closing ESG Funds

BlackRock Inc.and other money managers spent years rolling out sustainable funds, seeking to capitalize on surging interest in ESG investing. Now they’re abandoning an increasing number of those products in the US amid political backlash and investor scrutiny.

State Street Corp., Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Janus Henderson Group Plc and Hartford Funds Management Group Inc., among others, unwound more than two dozen ESG funds this year, according to data from Morningstar Inc.

On Sept. 15, BlackRock told regulators it, too, intends to close a pair of sustainable emerging-market bond funds with total assets of about $55 ...