Sustainable fund assets grew 12% in Q2: Morningstar

Inflows to 4,929 funds worldwide fell 24% from the first quarter’s record $184 billion, according to a Morningstar report.

Assets in sustainable funds grew 12% globally to $2.24 trillion at the end of June, according to a report by Morningstar.

The report examined global flows in 4,929 sustainable open-end and exchange-traded mutual funds during the second quarter. While inflows to the funds fell 24% to $139 billion globally from an all-time high of $184 billion in the first quarter, asset growth remained strong, Morningstar said.

Europe remains by far the most developed and diverse ESG market, accounting for 82% of global assets at $1.83 trillion, followed by the United States with 14%, at $304 billion.

U.S. sustainable active funds remained on a positive trend, Morningstar said, attracting a record $8.4 billion. U.S. sustainable passive funds attracted net inflows of $9.1 billion for the period, which represented 52% of all U.S. sustainable flows, compared with 69% in the first quarter.

Globally, 177 new sustainable products were launched during the second quarter, down from 215 and 226 launches in the first quarter and 226 launches in the fourth quarter of 2020. The United States saw 25 new sustainable products.

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