With more than half of the net £1.3bn invested in sustainable strategies in January 2020 being allocated to a single tracker fund, the debate surrounding whether active or passive strategies are better suited to ESG investing has come to the fore.
According to Morningstar, the BlackRock ACS World Low Carbon Equity Tracker fund saw net inflows of £700m in January, the largest single ESG investment, despite counting Nestlé - known for its association with various water-related scandals - as a top ten holding. Bård Bringedal, CIO of equities at Norwegian financial services firm Storebrand, attributed the success of passives in the ESG space to the passives industry being "better at marketing than effectively integrating ESG into investment processes." However, BlackRock's Marta Jankovic, EMEA head of iShares Sustainable, described...
To continue reading this article...
Join Professional Adviser for free
- Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
- Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
- Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
- Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
- Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
- Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes