executives have spoken out about the killing of Floyd while in police custody and the subsequent protests that erupted across the country. The statements were a mix of calls for diversity and inclusion, expressions of empathy and noting the resources available to employees.
"I think what these protests are demonstrating is that people really do have very strong convictions about these types of issues. They really do care deeply about all of this," Naqvi said. "ESG investing is just another channel through which people can align their values with their actions by incorporating these types of considerations into their investments."
Tom Lydon, CEO of ETF Trends and ETF Database, said the nationwide movement could be a tangential catalyst for ESG investments."Racism has no place in America and the events of last week kind of give corporate America an opportunity to reaffirm [to] their clients, their employees, their shareholders where they stand on this," he said. "So I think we'll come out of this on the other end much better and with a greater commitment to … environmental, social and governance issues.
While ESG ETFs have seen inflows this year, Lydon added that ESG's assets under management are still a fraction of the nearly $4 trillion U.S. ETF market. "Many financial advisors have had interest, but haven't made the commitment," Lydon said. "I think coming out of this, not only are self-directed investors going to be more committed, but advisors are going to be more committed because their clients are going to demand it."