Sustainable Equity Redemptions Continue, in Contrast to Conventional Peers
- Net assets: Article 8 TNA reached €9.54trn, while Article 9 assets rose to €353.90bn, largely through market movements
- Asset class: Article 8 funds attracted €78.15bn in Q2, led by bonds (+€40.80bn) and money market funds (+€26.84bn), while Article 9 redemptions eased to €712m
- Equity divergence: Conventional equity funds attracted €84.63bn in Q2, while sustainable equivalents shed €2.83bn
- Sustainable equity: Equity Sector–Information Technology led Q2 equity inflows (+€7.71bn), followed by Equity Global (+€6.95bn), while Equity US suffered the largest outflows (-€5.96bn)
Sustainable Asset Class Growth
Chart 1: Article 8 Fund Asset Class TNA, Q3 2024 to Q2 2026 (€trn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Article 8 total net assets (TNA) rose to €9.54trn at the end of Q2 2026, up €960.92bn, or 11.2%, from Q1. Equity remained the largest asset class, increasing 18.4% quarter on quarter to €3.83trn and accounting for 40.2% of total assets. Bonds followed at €2.19trn, (23%), after growth of 5.5%. Money market funds reached €1.81trn, representing 19.0%, while mixed assets rose 10.8% to €1.34trn, or 14.0%.
Alternatives recorded the fastest increase among the major categories, climbing 49% to €244.23bn, although this is from a low base, and now constitute 2.56% of total Article 8 assets. Commodities and “other” remained small, together accounting for around 0.1% of total TNA. Both nevertheless grew over the quarter, by 14.2% and 103.6%, respectively, from low bases.
Real estate was the only asset class to decline, falling 1.8% to €109.07bn.
Chart 2: Article 9 Fund Asset Class TNA, Q3 2024 to Q2 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Article 9 TNA rose to €353.90bn over Q2, up €38.10bn, or 12.1%, from the previous quarter—largely through market moves rather than inflows. Nevertheless, and despite persistent redemptions, this is the highest TNA in the period shown.
Equity remained the dominant asset class, increasing 14.5% to €240.78bn and accounting for 68% of total assets. Bonds rose 1.5% to €82.68bn, representing 23.4%. Mixed-assets TNA increased 32.3% to €19.77bn, while alternatives mirrored their Article 8 peers, recording the fastest growth, climbing 45.7% to €6.52bn.
By contrast, money market fund assets declined 9.9% to €1.13bn. Real estate slipped 2.4% to €2.54bn, and “other” assets fell 36.9% to €481.91m.
Equity and bonds together represented 91.4% of Article 9 TNA. No asset class outside equity and bonds held more than 6%.
This is the fastest increase in TNA for both Article 8 and 9 funds over the eight quarters covered on the graph. However, as the flows analysis below indicates, this has more to do with market growth than asset flows.
Sustainable Asset Flows
Chart 3: Article 8 quarterly flows, Q3 2024 to Q2 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Article 8 funds attracted €78.15bn in Q2 2026, marginally above the €77.58bn recorded in Q1.
Bonds were the main source of demand, with €40.80bn of net inflows, equal to 52.2% of the quarterly total. They have consistently been the most popular Article 8 risk asset since equities fell from grace around 2022.
MMFs followed at €26.84bn (34.3%), while mixed-assets funds added €7.16bn. Alternatives took €3.96bn, commodities €656m, and “other” funds €423m.
Against these gains, equity funds suffered €647m of redemptions and real estate funds lost €1.03bn.
H1 2026 Article 8 inflows reached €155.74bn. Bonds led at €65.04bn, narrowly ahead of MMFs (+€59.11bn); mixed assets (+€20.86bn); alternatives (+€10.14bn); and commodities (+€1.12bn). Real estate recorded €2.60bn of redemptions.
Chart 4: Article 9 quarterly flows, Q3 2024 to Q2 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Article 9 funds recorded net redemptions of €712m in Q2 2026. This is a marked improvement on the €2.68bn withdrawn in Q1 and the smallest quarterly outflow in the period shown, largely a result of increased bond inflows, and a turnaround in mixed-assets flows from negative to positive.
Equity funds remained the principal drag, losing €2.18bn, although this was below the previous quarter’s €2.73bn. Bond funds partly offset these redemptions with €1.36bn of inflows, their strongest quarterly result across the series. Mixed-assets funds added €220m and alternatives €24m.
Meanwhile, MMFs moved back into negative territory, shedding €127m, while “other” funds lost €4m and real estate flows were flat.
For the first half of 2026, Article 9 funds suffered aggregate outflows of €18.18bn, including €19.22bn from equities.
It’s clear from charts 3 and 4 that bonds are the most attractive sustainable risk asset and have been so since they overtook equities in 2022. Equities make up relatively little of Article 8 flows, either in or out, although there are indications that the large outflows from Article 9 equity funds seem to be abating. However, it would be rash to call this a continuing trend based on two quarters of data.
Sustainable versus Conventional Flows by Asset Class
Chart 5: Asset Class Flows, Articles 8 and 9 v Conventional, Q2 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Bond funds saw the largest sustainable inflows in Q2 2026, taking a combined €42.15bn, compared with €35.21bn for conventional funds.
MMFs followed with €26.71bn, substantially above the €5.90bn received by conventional products and representing 81.9% of combined demand.
Articles 8 and 9 alternatives attracted €3.98bn, or 54.3% of asset-class inflows, while sustainable commodities took €656m. Mixed-assets funds recorded €7.38bn of sustainable inflows against €24.46bn for conventional funds.
The clearest divergence occurred in equities: conventional funds attracted €84.63bn, while Article 8 and 9 funds suffered combined redemptions of €2.83bn, mainly from Article 9.
Chart 6: Asset Class Flows, Articles 8 and 9 v Conventional, H1 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Across H1 2026, Article 8 and 9 funds attracted a combined €154.23bn compared with €330.37bn for conventional funds.
Bonds led sustainable demand: €69.63bn, or 57.2% of total bond inflows. MMFs followed: (+€58.33bn, 63.9% of asset-class flows), while alternatives took €9.15bn, or 55.7%. Sustainable mixed-assets funds added €21.07bn (29.3%). Commodities contributed €1.37bn and “other” funds €385m.
Equity produced the sharpest contrast: conventional (+€183.85bn)/Articles 8 and 9 (-€3.15bn). Some €4.80bn of the latter was article 9 outflows. Real estate funds also lost €2.55bn across the two SFDR categories.
There is little variance between Q2 and H1 2026. In general, Article 8 funds take most “green” assets, with Article 9 much further behind. The exception is equity, where the asset class’s popularity is belied by the continuing outflows from sustainable funds, with a disproportional impact on Article 9 vehicles.
Sustainable Flows by Classification
Fund Flows by Lipper Global Classification, Q2 2026
Chart 7: Ten Best and Worst Lipper Global Classifications by Estimated Net Sales, Q2 2026 (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Money Market USD led the positive classifications in Q2 2026, although flows diverged (Article 8: +€22.99bn/Article 9: -€24m). Equity Sector–Information Technology ranked second, with inflows of €7.71bn, almost entirely from Article 8 funds. However, this is one of the rare equity classifications where we see positive Article 9 flows.
Equity Global followed, but here Article 8 and 9 flows moved in opposite directions, as Article 8 took €8.88bn and Article 9 lost €1.92bn, the latter being a large part of the drag equity funds in this category are experiencing. Equity Global Income showed a similar, though much smaller, divergence (Article 8: +€2.77bn/Article 9: -€1.2m).
Target Maturity Bond EUR 2020+ gathered a combined €4.72bn, contrasting with €4.51bn of conventional redemptions. Bond Global USD added €3.89bn, while Mixed Asset EUR Aggressive–Global, Bond Other, and Equity Theme–Infrastructure received €3.56bn, €3.26bn, and €2.63bn, respectively.
Outside the table, Equity Theme–Alternative Energy funds are attracting attention, with Article 9 funds taking €1.79bn, ahead of Article 8’s €594m and their conventional peer’s €519m, likely encouraged by the sector’s perceived ability to address the need for energy security.
Absolute Return Bond EUR attracted €3.64bn into Article 8 funds and was the main contributor to the appetite for alternatives over the quarter, accounting for more than 90% of the net demand for the asset class.
Moving from the credit to debit side of the ledger, Equity US recorded the largest sustainable outflow, with combined redemptions of €5.96bn despite €26.24bn of conventional inflows. Other regional markets bearing the brunt of sustainable outflows included Equity Europe (-€2.08bn) and Equity Asia Pacific ex Japan (-€2.07bn).
Equity Emerging Markets Global lost €4.45bn from Article 8, partly offset by €137m of Article 9 inflows—again, the latter proving something of a rarity. Their conventional equivalents attracted €667m. Equity China’s €2.15bn of Article 8 redemptions contrasts with €1.21bn of conventional inflows, and while Equity India saw redemptions from its conventional funds (-€603m), more than double this was shed by Article 8 funds (-€1.4bn).
Fund Flows by Lipper Global Classification, Year to Date
Chart 8: Ten Best and Worst Lipper Global Classifications by Estimated Net Sales, Year to Date (€bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
Money Market EUR was the strongest sustainable classification in H1 2026, with Article 8 inflows of €37.63bn, more than double the €15.03bn taken by conventional funds. Money Market USD followed at €20.58bn across Articles 8 and 9, broadly matching conventional inflows of €20.10bn, and also indicating that the demand for these funds has rocketed over Q2—likely a result of market expectations shifting to Fed tightening and dollar strengthening, making the greenback once again the attractive safe asset for yield. The contrast within money markets was Money Market GBP, where Article 8 funds shed €3.70bn while conventional products attracted €2.53bn.
Equity results were sharply divided. Equity Emerging Markets Global gathered €8.38bn sustainably, including a meaningful €1.00bn from Article 9, against €13.53bn for conventional funds. This makes the classification’s move into the red all the more stark, as all this and more will, by definition, have come in over Q1. There has clearly been a reversal in appetite for diversified emerging markets assets between the two quarters.
Equity Global Income added €6.15bn, compared with €7.97bn for conventional peers. At the other end, Equity US suffered €12.96bn of sustainable redemptions despite conventional inflows of €32.65bn. Equity China, Healthcare, Asia Pacific ex Japan, Europe ex UK, and India also recorded sustainable outflows of between €2.74bn and €3.50bn; conventional flows were negative in each case, but generally less severe.
Bond classifications were broadly positive. Bond Global USD attracted €7.83bn sustainably versus €14.32bn conventionally, while Bond Emerging Markets Global LC took €7.55bn, well ahead of conventional inflows of €2.91bn. Bond Global Corporates USD added €6.31bn. Conversely, Bond USD lost €3.87bn sustainably, compared with only €153m of conventional redemptions.
Mixed Asset EUR Aggressive–Global received €7.71bn, while Alternative Multi Strategies added €5.56bn. Absolute Return Bond EUR drew €7.19bn into Article 8 despite slight conventional and Article 9 outflows. Target Maturity MA EUR 2030 and Protected funds recorded sustainable redemptions of €3.74bn and €2.46bn, respectively. This left the positive side of the table more diversified by asset class than the equity-heavy negative side.
Sustainable Flows: Institutional vs Retail
Chart 9: Sustainable Asset Class Flows, Institutional v Retail, H1 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
The clearest split over H1 2026 between institutional and retail flows was in equity funds. Retail investors added £25.47bn, while institutional investors withdrew £28.62bn, producing a net sustainable equity outflow of £3.15bn despite strong retail demand. No other asset class showed a divergence of comparable scale. This is interesting as sustainable funds have long been held to be a mainly institutional asset, with retail coming late to the party. For now, in the equity space at least, institutional investors seem to have decided that the party is over, and left retail to hoover up the half-empty bottles of lambrusco. That said, key institutional investors such as pension funds are locked into sustainability goals, however modest, so we would expect structural demand to persist over the long term.
Institutional flows were instead concentrated in bonds, which attracted £45.81bn, almost twice the £23.82bn from retail investors. The pattern reversed in money market funds: retail inflows reached £42.04bn, compared with £16.29bn from institutions. Retail investors also led mixed-assets demand, contributing £13.74bn versus £7.33bn institution money.
Alternatives displayed a stronger institutional bias (+£6.66bn versus +£2.49bn retail). Commodities and “other” funds received modest positive flows from both groups. Real estate was the only asset class besides institutional equity to record redemptions, losing £2.33bn from retail investors and £227m from institutions.
Flows by Asset Manager
Chart 10: Largest Positive Sustainable Flows by Promoter, H1 2026 (£bn)
Source: LSEG Lipper
DWS was the largest sustainable asset gatherer in H1 2026, taking £13.58bn. Money market funds supplied £9.12bn, while mixed assets added £2.67bn—the highest promoter total for that asset class. HSBC ranked second with £10.68bn, driven mainly by £7.68bn from money markets and £2.87bn from bonds. Goldman Sachs followed on £9.27bn, with equity contributing £5.23bn.
JPMorgan gathered the most MMF assets, at £12.12bn, and led alternatives with £2.42bn. However, £8.28bn of equity redemptions reduced its aggregate inflow to £6.99bn. DNCA Investments dominated bonds, attracting £7.11bn, and recorded the table’s largest commodity inflow, at £520m. VanEck led equity sales with £5.76bn, narrowly ahead of ABN AMRO on £5.61bn. Northern Trust and State Street were also heavily dependent on money market demand, while Danske Invest’s £4.92bn total was spread more evenly across bonds, equity, and alternatives.
