Nine of 10 Biggest ESG Mutual Funds Outperformed S&P 500 in 2020

Nine of the 10 biggest ESG-focused mutual funds in the U.S. generated higher returns than the S&P 500index last year by posting gains of at least 20%.

The top performer was the $5.8 billion Putnam Sustainable Leaders Fund, up 28.5%, followed by the 27.9% advance of the $4.9 billion Aberdeen Emerging Markets Fund.

The lone fund to record lower returns than the S&P 500’s 18.4% increase was the $6.6 billion Parnassus Mid Cap Fund, up 14.9%. The Parnassus fund’s market benchmark is the Russell Midcap Index, which advanced 17.1% last year.

Here are the funds ...