US Sustainable Funds Post First-Ever Annual Outflows in 2023 (1)

A net $13 billion was pulled last year from US-based sustainable funds due to subpar investment performance and heightened political scrutiny, according to analysts at Morningstar Inc.

• Morningstar said 2023 was the first calendar year of outflows for sustainable funds since the research firm started tracking the sector 10 years ago
• The slide was led by more than $9 billion of withdrawals from BlackRock Inc.’s iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA exchange-traded fund (ticker ESGU), Morningstar said
• Greenwashing concerns persisted last year because of “the absence of clear, cross-border regulation” for sustainable investing, including environmental, social and governance funds, the ...