European investment manager Candriam said its total assets rose 7.1% to €150bn in the first six months of the year, boosted by net inflows into its environmental, social and governance-focused funds.
Demand to invest in ESG-related funds has surged over recent years as the world looks to move to a low-carbon economy in the fight against climate change, and as social issues such as diversity take on greater importance for investors.
Candriam, part of privately held insurance firm New York Life, said the gains meant it had hit its five-year asset growth target six months ahead of schedule, rising more than 50% since the goal was set in 2016.
“The main reason (for the growth) is the ESG trend,” Candriam Chief Executive Naim Abou-Jaoude told Reuters. “In 2021, 90% of the net sales came from ESG products,” compared with 50%-60% over the previous three years.
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“The trend is accelerating,” he added, with some clients shifting out of vanilla actively managed funds to sustainable funds, and demand from private clients increasing.
Net inflows accounted for €4.2bn of the €10bn half-year asset gain, with the balance from positive investment performance. Total assets at the end of December 2020 were €140bn.
Of the inflows, €1.9bn went into sustainable-focused global credit and high-yield funds, €1.1bn went into equity funds, of which €600m was sustainable equity, €800m went into thematic funds and €400m into absolute return.
Among the most in demand thematic funds during the period were the €1.9bn Oncology Impact Fund, with inflows of €180m, and the €1.07bn Climate Action Fund, with inflows of €250m.
The Candriam Sustainable Medium Fund, which invests in both equities and bonds, took in 629 million euros.
Candriam assets dedicated to ESG investing now totalled €98bn, with the majority of its European fund range classified as sustainable under the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), it said.
Source: Yahoo Finance
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