Investor appetite for ESG funds and other sustainable investments remains steady in Europe, in stark contrast with the United States, where the ESG backlash has had investors pull billions of U.S. dollars out of sustainable funds over the past year. Europe has higher political and investor support for ESG investment products, a Reuters analysis shows, which has helped the continent to stay ahead of the U.S. in terms of sustainable investment flows.
Europe remained the world’s biggest market for sustainable funds, but the fourth-quarter fund inflows were much lower than the revised $11.8 billion inflows in the previous quarter, per the data. Meanwhile, outflows from U.S. sustainable funds jumped to $5.1 billion in the fourth quarter, nearly double the restated $2.7 billion outflows in the third quarter.