Following a peak of US$376 million in Q3 2022, anti-ESG funds have seen inflows slow significantly according to analysis by Morningstar. The financial data firm has identified 26 funds that it deems to be anti-ESG, which it grouped into five categories: Anti-ESG, Political, Renouncer, Vice, and Voter. At least 15 of these funds launched after 1 September 2020. The most successful of these anti-ESG funds was Strive US Energy ETF DRLL, which saw US$100 million invested in the first week after its launch. Morningstar placed Strive in the Voter category, with the company voting against all 11 of the key ESG shareholder resolutions flagged by Morningstar at S&P 100 companies so far this year. The asset management firm, which was co-founded by the ESG-critical 2024 Presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, launched a second fund which had US$33 million invested in its first month. However, the following five funds launched by Strive have attracted less than US$2 million per month. “What started as a downpour slowed to a drizzle”, the report noted. Anti-ESG fund net new deposits fell to US$188 million in Q4 2022 before plummeting to US$69 million in Q1 2023.
Anti-ESG investments come in all shapes and sizes.
And while their history is short, the criticism of sustainable investing is nothing new. https://t.co/eaOnYLC9uY
— Morningstar, Inc. (@MorningstarInc) June 8, 2023
