Sustainable Bottom Line: The largest 50 focused sustainable funds represent a starting point for identifying and evaluating core candidates for building a diversified sustainable portfolio.
The largest 50 focused sustainable funds span 17 investment categories and account for 66% of sustainable assets
The largest 50 long-term sustainable investment funds, with $224.5 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2025, include active and passively managed funds, span 17 investment categories, and are managed by 22 investment firms. The largest funds make up 66% of the assets representing the universe of focused sustainable long-term mutual funds and ETFs whose net assets stood at $339.0 billion as of the same date. The funds that comprise the segment range in size from $1.3 billion to $26.8 billion in assets, including all related share classes in the case of mutual funds. While the largest funds may not span the variety of investment options that are available across the entire universe of focused sustainable funds, they do represent a good starting point for identifying and evaluating potential candidate funds for consideration in building the core segment of a diversified sustainable investment portfolio.
Actively managed funds and equity-oriented funds continue to make up the largest segment of the largest 50 funds
The segment includes active (53%) as well as passively managed (47%) funds. By far, the largest investment category consists of 17 Large Blend funds that account for 54% of the segment’s net assets under management.
The largest funds posted an average return of -2.5% in the first quarter of the year but maintained a positive trailing 12-month return of 3.3%. Average returns for the 17 investment categories covered by the top 50 funds ranged from a low of -17.14% posted by the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF, the one fund that makes up the Miscellaneous Sector. At the other end of the range is the one fund that comprises the Diversified Emerging Markets investment category, the iShares ESG Aware MSCI Emerging Markets ETF that registered a gain of 10.83%.
Average expense ratios applicable to the largest 50 funds, based on investment categories, ranged from 21 basis points to 116 basis points. That said, the range for individual funds starts at 0.1%.
Notes of Explanation: Funds are arrayed by assets under management (AUM) as of March 31, 2025. For mutual funds, this is the largest share class, by AUM, and the performance results and expense ratios correspond to the indicated share class. AUM reflects the combined assets of the fund. Sources: Morningstar and Sustainable Research and Analysis.
