In this issue of LSEG Lipper’s Global Mutual Funds & Exchange-Traded Products Snapshot, we feature a summary of total net assets (TNA) and estimated net flows (ENF) for global responsible investments conventional funds and exchange-traded products for February 2025.   Loading

In this issue of LSEG Lipper’s US Mutual Funds & Exchange-Traded Products Snapshot, we feature a summary of total net assets (TNA) and estimated net flows (ENF) for responsible investments conventional funds and exchange-traded products for February 2025.   Loading

Headlines are grim for sustainable investments. But headlines are frequently misleading. To paraphrase Mark Twain, the figures suggest reports of its death may be somewhat premature. First of all, though, a caveat: how one defines “sustainable” greatly affects the calculation, as does the market on which one focuses. Here I’m focusing on the UK market, with a rather restricted definition of “sustainable”: all SFDR Article 9 funds plus those containing indicative sustainable keywords in the name. This gives a narrower universe than, for instance, including all integration-based strategies. What does the data show? Equities finished 2024 as the most successful

Despite the fact that media coverage around sustainability in general has gone further down over the course of 2024, it is important to have a look at the estimated net flows in the European ETF industry by SFDR article to determine if investors have returned to sustainable investment strategies or if they still prefer ETFs without any sustainability related screening criteria. As for the year 2023, ETFs classified as article 6 products (+€214.1 bn) enjoyed the highest inflows over the course of 2024, followed by ETFs classified under article 8 of the SFDR (+€43.3 bn). Conversely, ETFs classified under article

Sustainable Fund Flows Turn Negative for First Time in Q4 as Equities Dive Asset Class: Q4 saw net outflows of £2.24bn, driven by large redemptions from equity funds of £3.54bn—the first ever quarter of negative net flows. Classification: Equity US was the year’s best-selling sustainable classification, with inflows of £13.5bn, exceeding the entire annual take for sustainable equities. Active v Passive: In 2024, sustainable passive bond funds attracted £1.84bn with £1.59bn to active, while passive equities took £3.37bn and active £8.68bn. Fund manager: BlackRock enjoyed the highest sales of sustainable funds in 2024, with inflows of £20.55bn, overwhelmingly to equities.

With all the ongoing discussions around sustainable investing, it makes sense to review the estimated fund flows in the European fund industry based on the assigned SFDR articles. At first glance, it appears the trend of 2023 has continued, as mutual funds and ETFs assigned to Article 9 of the SFDR were the only category which faced outflows (-€27.8 bn) over the course of 2024.   Graph 1: Cumulative Estimated Net Flows in the European Fund Industry by SFDR Article (in bn EUR) Source: LSEG Lipper   A closer look shows that Article 9 products faced estimated net outflows in

Sustainable Bonds and Mixed Assets in the Red Over Q3 as Equity Increases Asset Class: Sustainable funds took £14.93bn over Q1-3 2024, compared to conventional funds outflows of £7.46bn, with sustainable equities netting £13.68bn. Classification: Equity US is the best-selling sustainable classification, with inflows of £13.5bn YTD. Conventional flows over the period were a more modest £1.6bn. Active v Passive: Passive bond redemptions for Q3 stood at £757m, as active bond funds saw inflows of £90m for the quarter. Fund manager: BlackRock saw inflows of £16.55bn, overwhelmingly to equities.   Note that this report has narrowed its focus from broad

A view on the market movements between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, shows that it is fair to say that this period was a period in which active fund managers could have shown their asset selection and timing skills since the markets were driven by a number of different factors. Each of these factors could have caused a major market downturn on their own. There were a lot of geopolitical tensions around the globe beside the war in Ukraine, which showed that democratic states are more vulnerable than one may think. Also, there were economic factors which burdened

When evaluating the fund flows and assets under management in the European ETF industry by the respective Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) articles, one should not be surprised that the European ETF industry is heavily tilted towards article 6. This means the majority of fund flows and assets under management are invested in products which do not take ESG criteria into consideration. In more detail, on August 31, 2024, 1,442.5 bn EUR, or 76.77%, of the overall assets under management were invested in ETFs assigned to article 6 of the SFDR, while 414.9 bn EUR (22.08%) were held by ETFs

General Overview The global ETF industry enjoyed general inflows over the course of July 2024. These inflows occurred in a positive market environment. Nevertheless, equity markets looked somewhat vulnerable given the high valuations of the market leaders. With regard to this, it is not surprising that investors are nervous and reacting quite fast on any news that may impact the current market environment negatively. This is not only true for economic news, as the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, especially the developments around the Red Sea, are seen as a risk for the general economic growth in Western countries

Asset Class: Sustainable funds took £11.01bn over H1 2024, compared to conventional funds outflows of £6.63bn, with sustainable equities netting £8.71bn. Classification: Equity US funds were the most popular sustainable classification, netting £9.38bn, followed by Bond Global Corporates LC and Equity Europe ex UK. Active v Passive: Sustainable equity flows over H1 were £3.64bn to passive funds and £5.07bn to active. Fund manager: BlackRock saw inflows of £11.61bn, overwhelmingly to equities.   Sustainable versus Conventional Assets and Flows by Asset Class  Chart 1: Sustainable Asset Class AUM, 2014 to H1 2024 (£bn) Source: LSEG Lipper   Since 2014, UK sustainable

Total assets under management in the global responsible investments fund market fell $19.6 billion (-0.7%) for June and stood at $2,788.4 billion at the end of the month. Estimated net inflows accounted for $1.8 billion, while $21.5 billion was removed because of the negatively performing markets.