Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

An Evaluation Of Esg Funds And Their Performance, Mason Hook

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Over the past decade, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) oriented funds have seen a dramatic increase in inflows and many investors have chosen to replace traditional holdings with sustainable ones. Within 5 years, it is projected that ESG exchange traded funds and mutual funds will exceed $53 trillion. Many fund managers claim that ESG funds will outperform traditional funds in the long run. If this claim is accurate, many asset managers would have a fiduciary duty to invest in ESG products. While there is often a non-financial benefit to investing in ESG funds, this paper challenges the claim that they …