Is the ESG investing boom already over?
After peaking at $17.1 trillion in 2020, ESG assets in the United States dropped sharply to just $8.4 trillion in 2022. ESG, which stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance investing, emerged as one of the biggest investment trends in modern times.
This year, four ETFs focusing on ESG have been liquidated while their surviving peers continue to record capital outflows.
Talking points around ESG have dwindled as well. According to Factset, just 74 companies in the S&P 500 cited the term “ESG” during their latest conference call transcripts—less than half the 156 times the term was used in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- One thing to talk the talk, another to walk the walk. Two articles on performance of these woke investment concepts:
- https://hbr.org/2022/03/an-inconvenient-truth-about-esg-investing
- https://www.investors.com/etfs-and-funds/sectors/sp500-esg-and-woke-funds-are-now-costing-you-money/
Material prepared by Sherman Portfolios, LLC. My commentary and additional references to this woke foley of ESG is marked by *