Interest in sustainable investing has taken a back seat in the past year after the environmental, social and governance strategy found itself enmeshed in a viscous political storm.
The dwindling demand is evident in the Americas from the slowdown in sales of new exchange-traded funds and the pickup in fund closures and outflows, according to Shaheen Contractor, senior ESG strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence.
In 2023, the region saw just 48 new ETFs introduced, down from 104 in 2022 and 125 in 2021, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show.
"ESG ETF launches will likely keep slowing as political turmoil and changing regulations cause asset managers to pause," Contractor wrote in a research note.
A net $4.3 billion was pulled last year from ESG-focused ETFs in the U.S., marking the first-ever annual outflows.
The $13 billion iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ticker ESGU), the largest ESG-focused ETF, is seeing continued outflows this year, with $809 million yanked from the fund after a $9 billion exodus last year.
Meanwhile, 36 ESG-labeled ETFs were liquidated in the Americas during 2023, more than double the prior year, data from Bloomberg Intelligence show.
Almost 60% of the funds that were closed were actively managed.
