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Monthly Sustainable Cash Flows: September 2018

Summary Sustainable funds close September having achieved another high point with $321.9 billion in assets under management, up $11.4 billion of which $10.99 billion, or 96%, is sourced to repurposed funds; in the third quarter, net assets expanded by $36 billion, with 60% attributable to repurposed funds. Sustainable funds registered an average gain of 2.14%…

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Summary

  • Sustainable funds close September having achieved another high point with $321.9 billion in assets under management, up $11.4 billion of which $10.99 billion, or 96%, is sourced to repurposed funds; in the third quarter, net assets expanded by $36 billion, with 60% attributable to repurposed funds.
  • Sustainable funds registered an average gain of 2.14% in September, ranging from 17.17% to -3.87% while the SUSTAIN Equity Fund Index added 2.79%, lagging behind the S&P 500 by 47 basis points.
  • Top 10 performing funds/share classes over the 12-months to September 30, 2018: Performance ranges from 25.99% to 228.44%. These funds vary in their approach but cover the full range of sustainable investing strategies and practices.
  • Sustainable fund groups expanded to an adjusted 119 firms with the addition of Jensen Investments and Calamos Advisors.
  • Top 20 sustainable fund groups account for $279 billion or 86.7% of segments assets under management; top 10 firms manage $231.5 billion, or 72%.
  • Largest monthly net gains recorded by American Funds Washington Mutual and various TIAA-CREF and DFA funds.
  • Largest monthly declines were recorded by Vanguard, Aberdeen and Morgan Stanley funds
  • Repurposed funds add 8 funds, 31 share classes and $11.0 billion in assets under management to the sustainable investing sector.
  • New Funds: Three new funds launched in September, including the Vanguard ESG US Stock ETF, Vanguard ESG International Stock ETF and Impact Shares.

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