ESG funds suffer following outbreak of war in Ukraine

Flows drop to $15bn in March

Flows into global ESG funds fell to just $15bn in March this year, as the fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February took its toll on markets, according to data from Institute of International Funds.

The organisation highlighted the "challenging backdrop" of the first quarter of this year as a whole, which saw overall flows into ESG funds fall to $75bn, marking a "sharp slowdown" from their recent pace. The drop off of flows into ESG funds in March, following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, saw them reach their weakest point since March 2020, when a global pandemic was declared by the World Health Organisation, which triggered heavy outflows across the board. War in Ukraine triggers debate over inclusion of weapons in ESG funds Researchers at IIF said: "The sharp reversal in gl...