Release: ESG Investing, January 2025
The combined assets of mutual funds and ETFs that invest according to ESG criteria decreased by $25.85 billion, to $572.05 billion in December, according to the Investment Company Institute’s monthly surveys.
ESG Investing: January 2025
Washington, DC; February 28, 2025—The combined assets of mutual funds and ETFs that invest according to ESG criteria increased by $15.65 billion, to $585.66 billion in January, according to the Investment Company Institute’s monthly surveys.
Total Net Assets of Funds That Invest According to ESG Criteria*
Millions of dollars
Jan 2025
Dec 2024
% Change
Jan 2024
Broad ESG Focus
238,625
232,435
2.7
222,712
Environmental Focus
66,986
64,226
4.3
50,509
Religious Values Focus
164,711
160,680
2.5
147,390
Other Focus
115,335
112,666
2.4
105,567
Total
585,657
570,007
2.7
526,178
* Categories include data for mutual funds that invest primarily in other mutual funds and ETFs that invest primarily in other ETFs.
Flows of Funds That Invest According to ESG Criteria*
Millions of dollars
Jan 2025
Dec 2024
Jan–Jan 2025
Jan–Jan 2024
Broad ESG Focus
145
-1.991
145
-3,190
Environmental Focus
1,318
3,084
1,318
16
Religious Values Focus
-463
-610
-463
-256
Other Focus
-939
-886
-939
-1,952
Total
62
-403
62
-5,382
* Categories include data for mutual funds that invest primarily in other mutual funds and ETFs that invest primarily in other ETFs.
Highlights: Funds that invest according to ESG criteria had a net inflow of $62 million in January, versus an outflow of $403 million in December.
Funds with a broad ESG focus posted an inflow of $145 million in January, compared with an outflow of $1.99 billion in December. Funds with an environmental focus posted an inflow of $1.32 billion in January, versus an inflow of $3.08 billion in December. Funds with a religious values focus had an outflow of $463 million in January, versus an outflow of $610 million in December. Other funds with an ESG focus posted an outflow of $939 million in January, compared with an outflow of $886 million in December.
Number of Funds That Invest According to ESG Criteria*
Jan 2025
Dec 2024
Jan 2024
Broad ESG Focus
400
401
443
Environmental Focus
123
127
138
Religious Values Focus
201
201
195
Other Focus
112
113
127
Total
836
842
903
* Categories include data for mutual funds that invest primarily in other mutual funds and ETFs that invest primarily in other ETFs.
About ICI’s Data
ICI Research examines the prospectuses of funds to classify those that invest according to ESG criteria using the same approach that it does for other categories across all funds. In particular, ICI looks for language indicating that a fund places an important and explicit emphasis on environmental, social, or governance criteria to achieve certain goals.
ICI classifies ESG-criteria funds into groups based on the frameworks or guidelines expressed at the forefront of their principal investment strategies sections.
- Broad ESG focus: These funds focus broadly on ESG matters. They consider all three elements of ESG (rather than focusing on one or two of the considerations) or may include ESG in their names. Index funds in this group may track a socially responsible index such as the MSCI KLD 400 Social Index.
- Environmental focus: These funds focus more narrowly on environmental matters. They may include terms such as alternative energy, climate change, clean energy, environmental solutions, or low carbon in their principal investment strategies or fund names.
- Religious values focus: These funds invest in accordance with specific religious values.
- Other focus: These funds focus more narrowly on some combination of environmental, social, and/ or governance elements, but not all three. They often negatively screen to eliminate certain types of investments.
Data for prior dates reflect revisions due to data adjustments, reclassifications, and changes in the number of funds reporting.
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