Asset Managers Leave Billions Worth of ESG Funds in Limbo (2)

Many asset managers are unlikely to act on European Union guidance that’s freed them to reverse mass ESG fund downgrades, according to industry insiders including investment firms and the lawyers advising them.

The self-imposed freeze on reclassifications means that tens of billions of dollars in client assets that the EU has signaled probably should be listed under the bloc’s highest environmental, social and governance tag — Article 9 — may not be registered accurately for the foreseeable future.

Even after getting the all-clear from the European Commission last month, “most managers are likely to await further clarity before they ...