All 10 of the Largest ESG Funds Suffered Double-Digit Percent Losses, 8 Underperformed S&P 500, as 2022 Drew to a Close

As 2022 drew to a close, all 10 of the largest Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) funds left investors suffering double-digit percentage losses in the value of their portfolios, an analysis by Bloomberg reveals.

What’s more, the report finds that eight of the ten largest ESG funds, measured by assets, performed worse than the S&P 500:

“The 10 largest ESG funds by assets have all posted double-digit losses, with eight of them falling even more than the S&P 500’s 14.8% decline. The laggards include BlackRock Inc.’s $20.7 billion iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA exchange-traded fund (ESGU) and Vanguard Group’s $5.9 billion ESG US Stock ETF (ESGV).

“The $6 billion Brown Advisory Sustainable Growth Fund (BAFWX) was the worst performer of the bunch, having slumped 28.1% this year as of the close of business on Dec. 5. The fund had more than two-fifths of its assets in software, semiconductor and internet stocks as recently as the end of October.”

Measuring total return through Dec. 5, Bloomberg lists the percentage declines in value of the 10 largest ESG funds – READ MORE