Rising demand for sustainable investment prompted managers to change the strategy or investment profile of 253 European funds in 2020, helping to push regional assets invested in funds with an environmental, social or governance (ESG) tilt to a record €1.1 trillion by the end of December. According to the data, from financial services firm Morningstar, in addition to the repurposed funds there were 505 new ESG fund launches in Europe over the year. More particularly, sustainable investments in Europe grew by 84% in the last quarter of 2020, accounting for 80% of the $152.3 billion global ESG fund inflows in the same period, with US ESG funds attracting 13.4% of the global total.

Author

Financial Times