Investors pull cash from ESG funds as performance lags
ESG equity funds suffer net $40bn of outflows in 2024 globally, the first sustained exodus. Over the past 12 months, ESG funds made an 11% return, compared with 21% for conventional stock funds. Scandals such as one at German asset manager DWS also hit investors' appetite. But ESG bond funds have have raked in $22bn this year.