China’s ESG Mutual Funds Exceed USD$23 Billion

610

China’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) funds are expected to see sizeable growth in future following a push from Beijing for more sustainable development and the growth of green finance.

As of 22 June there were a total of 121 ESG investment funds in China with total assets of 150 billion yuan (approx. USD$23.17 billion), according to data from Wind.

In 2021 alone China has seen the launch of 15 ESG investment funds, including Shanghai Pudong Development Bank’s “Ansheng Zhongjian ESG120 Strategic ETF” (浦银安盛中证ESG120策略ETF) on 18 June and the “China Merchants Bank Shanghai-Shenzhen 300 ESG Benchmark ETF” (招商沪深300ESG基准ET) on 15 June.

Wind defined “ESG investment funds” as those which marketed themselves using the term “ESG,” and focused in particular upon “clean energy,” “environmental protection” and “low carbon” investments.

Data from Wind further indicates that 95 of these ESG funds have seen rates of return of over 10%, while 59 of them have posted returns of over 100%.