Equity Global Funds See Largest Sustainable Redemptions
- Net assets: Q1 2026 is the first quarter since Q1 2025 where Article 8 equity net assets have fallen. While Article 9 equity growth is more mixed, the trend is down.
- Asset class flows: Bond funds remained a major source of demand (+€24.24bn) as mixed-assets funds strengthened (+€13.70bn).
- Money Market EUR was Q1’s most popular sustainable classification (+€47.05bn).
- Equity Global saw €8.47bn of Article 8 and 9 outflows, despite the classification still attracting sizeable conventional inflows.
Sustainable Asset Class Growth
Chart 1: Article 8 Fund Asset Class TNA, Q2 2024 to Q1 2026 (€trn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Article 8 fund total net assets edged up to €8.57trn in Q1 2026 from €8.55trn in Q4 2025, a quarterly increase of €27.1bn. The biggest riser was money market funds, whose assets grew by €50.2bn to €1.77trn. Bond funds also made a notable contribution, rising by €23.5bn to €2.08trn, while mixed-assets funds added €15.4bn to reach €1.21trn.
At the other end of the scale, equity funds saw the largest fall in absolute terms, dropping €44.6bn to €3.24trn, though they remained the largest Article 8 asset class. Alternatives also declined sharply, down €15.2bn to €163.9bn. We think this is most likely due to a reclassification from article 8, as flows remained positive (chart 3). Real estate and other assets slipped modestly, while commodities rose from a low base.
Chart 2: Article 9 Fund Asset Class TNA, Q2 2024 to Q1 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Article 9 fund total net assets fell to €315.80bn in Q1 2026 from €325.63bn in Q4 2025, taking the segment further below its Q3 2024 peak. All asset classes except MMFs and bonds saw TNA declines.
Equity remained by far the largest asset class at €210.30bn, or 66.59% of assets, but it also saw the biggest quarterly decline in absolute terms, falling by €7.44bn.
Mixed assets recorded the sharpest percentage drop among the main segments, down 14.3% to €14.95bn, while alternatives also fell markedly, shedding €986m to €4.47bn. By contrast, bonds were the main bright spot, rising by €1.05bn to €81.46bn, and money market funds increased by €92m to €1.25bn. Real estate and other assets were little changed.
Article 9 total net assets (TNA) were a mere 3.68% of those of Article 8 funds. We see a continuing trend, where Article 8 TNA edge upwards, with Article 9 assets heading in the other direction. That said, this is the first quarter since Q1 2025 where Article 8 equity TNA has fallen. While the quarter-on-quarter pattern of Article 9 equity growth is more mixed, the overall trajectory is down.
Sustainable Asset Flows
Chart 3: Article 8 quarterly flows, Q2 2024 to Q1 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Article 8 funds gathered €77.58bn in Q1 2026, up from €60.47bn in Q4 2025, though still below the highs seen in Q4 2024 (+€118.16bn) and Q3 2025 (+€110.97bn). The rebound was driven above all by money market funds, whose inflows jumped to €32.27bn from just €1.19bn the previous quarter.
Bond funds remained a major source of demand, though inflows slowed to €24.24bn from €43.15bn. Mixed-assets funds strengthened, rising to €13.70bn from €8.42bn, while alternatives stayed positive at €6.18bn.
Equity inflows softened to €2.24bn, commodities were little changed at €464m, and real estate stayed in redemption, losing €1.57bn—a trend which has been consistent, quarter on quarter.
Chart 4: Article 9 quarterly flows, Q2 2024 to Q1 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Article 9 funds recorded net redemptions of €2.68bn in Q1 2026, an improvement on the €7.87bn withdrawn in Q4 2025 and the smallest quarterly outflow since Q3 2024.
Equity funds remained the main drag, but redemptions eased markedly to €2.73bn from €7.66bn in the previous quarter. Bond funds were for the third consecutive month the standout positive, attracting €417m after €164m in Q4. By contrast, mixed-assets funds saw outflows deepen to €392m, while alternatives reversed from a €78m Q4 2025 inflow to an €18m outflow.
MMFs stayed positive at €85m, and “other” funds saw €46m redeemed. Real estate was marginally positive at €6m. While RE Article 9 flows are less consistently negative than for their Article 8 peers, the universe is considerably smaller.
Although equity assets dominate SFDR articles 8 and 9, it’s clear that they have been sidelined in Article 8 flows by MMF, bond, and mixed assets. However, the red bars still stand out in chart 4, albeit for the ‘wrong’ reasons. Some 51.5% of Article 9 TNA are in the top four Lipper Global Classifications—all equity: Equity Global, Equity Europe, Equity Theme – Alternative Energy, and Equity Theme – Water. Equity Global itself is more than 30% of the total.
Sustainable versus Conventional
Flows by Asset Class
Chart 5: Asset Class Flows, Articles 8 and 9 v Conventional, Q1 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Article 8 and 9 funds attracted €74.91bn in Q1 2026—29.81% of the €251.24bn gathered by the European fund market. MMFs were the biggest contributors to sustainable demand: Article 8 and 9 money market flows reached €32.36bn, accounting for 54.64% of the €59.23bn gathered by the asset class. Bonds were next, with €24.66bn into Article 8 and 9 bond funds (56.91% of the asset class’s €43.33bn). Mixed assets followed with €13.31bn of Article 8 and 9 inflows (35.41% of €37.58bn total), held back by Article 9 mixed-assets outflows of €0.39bn.
Alternatives saw another strong quarter for sustainable strategies, attracting €6.16bn (76.52% of the €8.05bn total, all to Article 8). Commodities recorded a more modest €0.46bn into Article 8 (16.06% of €2.89bn total).
Equities again stood out as the key laggard for sustainable demand. While conventional equity funds took €100.13bn, Article 8 and 9 equity saw €0.49bn redeemed overall—driven by €2.73bn of Article 9 outflows, only partially offset by €2.24bn of Article 8 inflows—leaving sustainable equities with a slightly negative share of total equity flows (-0.50%). Real estate was similarly bifurcated: conventional real estate gathered €1.77bn, but Article 8 and 9 lost €1.57bn, resulting in a small positive net figure for the asset class overall.
Sustainable Flows by Classification
Largest positive flows
Chart 6: Largest Positive Article 8 & 9 Flows by LSEG Lipper Global Classification,
Q1 2026 (€bn) versus Conventional Equivalents
Source: LSEG Lipper
Money market and fixed income dominated the top 10 best-selling classifications in Q1 2026, with Money Market EUR far ahead of the pack at €47.05bn of net sales. Sustainable funds accounted for much of that demand: €36.21bn flowed into Article 8 and 9 vehicles (around 77% of the total), versus €10.84bn for conventional peers.
Bonds filled much of the remaining leaderboard, reflecting the overall appetite for fixed income, both sustainable and conventional. Bond Global USD gathered €9.30bn overall, though this was led by conventional inflows (+€6.54bn), leaving €2.76bn for Article 8 and 9 (including €0.34bn into Article 9). Bond Emerging Markets Global LC raised €8.54bn, with Article 8 and 9 taking €6.19bn (about 72%) and a relatively strong €0.73bn from Article 9.
Half of the above table showed sustainable demand more than offsetting conventional redemptions—most notably Bond EUR Corporates (+€2.49bn into Article 8 and 9 versus -€1.36bn conventional), Absolute Return Bond EUR (+€3.35bn sustainable vs -€0.23bn conventional), and Alternative Multi Strategies (+€3.12bn sustainable vs -€0.22bn conventional).
What’s notable is the increase in demand for alternative strategies, whether absolute return bond or long-short equity, in a market where investors are increasingly wary of downside risk, and its frequent expression in sustainable vehicles.
Largest negative flows
Chart 7: Largest Negative Article 8 & 9 Flows by LSEG Lipper Global Classification,
Q1 2026 (€bn) versus Conventional Equivalents
Source: LSEG Lipper
Sustainable fund redemptions in Q1 2026 were led by equities, with Equity Global and Equity US the two largest detractors. Equity Global saw €8.47bn of Article 8 and 9 outflows, while Equity US lost €7.37bn. Notably, both classifications still attracted sizeable conventional inflows, particularly for Equity Global (+€34.78bn), underlining a clear preference for non-sustainable exposure here. What’s also notable is the significant proportion of Equity Global Article 9 redemptions (-€1.81bn), as a broad range of strategies here—both active and passive—lost assets.
Despite the popularity of Money Market EUR exposure—both conventional and sustainable—cash also featured prominently: Money Market GBP posted €3.83bn of sustainable redemptions, and Money Market USD saw €1.88bn of redemptions, despite €21.33bn flowing into conventional USD money market funds.
Outside equities and cash, outflows were spread across credit and defensive/structured areas, including Bond USD High Yield (-€1.78bn), Target Maturity MA EUR 2030 (-€1.72bn), Bond USD (-€1.59bn), and Protected (-€1.54bn). Equity Europe ex UK also recorded €1.50bn of sustainable outflows, despite €1.78bn of conventional inflows, while Equity Theme – Water lost €1.39bn, with €828m of that from Article 9 funds.
Across these top 10 classifications, Article 8 and 9 redemptions totalled €31.07bn.
Flows by Asset Manager
Chart 8: Largest Positive Sustainable Flows by Promoter, Q1 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The top 10 fund management companies gathered €43.63bn of sustainable net sales in Q1 2026, with flows heavily skewed toward money market funds (+€26.24bn), followed by bonds (+€7.16bn) and equities (+€6.96bn); real estate was the only asset class in net outflow across the group (-€0.44bn).
DWS topped the ranking with €10.39bn, overwhelmingly driven by MMF inflows (+€9.56bn) plus mixed assets (+€1.59bn) and bonds (+€1.25bn), offset by equity redemptions (-€2.33bn) and real estate outflows (-€0.44bn).
BNP Paribas followed on, netting €5.25bn, again led by MMF demand (+€5.48bn), with equity outflows (-€1.51bn) partially offset by bonds (+€0.74bn) and mixed assets (+€0.52bn). The next two names—DNCA Investments (+€4.10bn) and Ostrum AM (+€4.09bn)—showed contrasting drivers: DNCA’s flows were bond-led (+€3.71bn), while Ostrum’s were almost entirely money market-led (+€4.27bn). Further down, Northern Trust (+€4.07bn), State Street Investment (+€3.33bn), and ABN AMRO Investment Solutions (+€3.17bn) combined strong money market and/or equity demand, while Handelsbanken (+€3.74bn), VanEck (+€2.86bn), and SEB (+€2.62bn) were notably equity driven.
