Buyers couldn’t get in quick sufficient. In April 2021,
BlackRock
launched a brand new exchange-traded fund aimed toward figuring out the winners of the transition to a low-carbon world. It raised a report $1.25 billion in in the future, making it the largest-ever ETF debut. The success underscored the exploding demand for merchandise tailor-made to environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, investing—these with a mission of addressing complicated issues corresponding to local weather change and financial inequality.
Final 12 months, nevertheless, the story started to bitter. Many ESG, or “sustainable,” funds—the phrases are used interchangeably—suffered from poor efficiency, lacking out on rallies in oil and coal. The technique got here underneath assault from conservative politicians decrying “woke capitalism.” Others cost that the technique has little to indicate in terms of enhancing life on the planet. The trade was additionally rocked by some high-profile scandals.
