Institutional investors pulled $468.8 billion (€441.5 billion) out of equity strategies last year – but rewarded asset managers that had responsible investment capabilities.
Flat institutional flows in the third quarter (Q3) were followed by net outflows of $167.1 billion in Q4, according to eVestment’s ‘Traditional asset flows report’.
Investors pulled assets from managers with accounts domiciled in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, Canada, Africa/Middle East and Australia, eVestment said. The largest was the US.
However, environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies “continue to attract a lot of search activity”, said eVestment, “and that search activity is being rewarded with asset flows”.
The eVestment All ESG-Focused universe reported net inflows of $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter.
Institutional investors in the US were responsible for net inflows of $4.7 billion into ESG-focused strategies over the year.
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