ESG Resource Hub for Media

Sustainability introduces new opportunities and trade-offs for investors – Morningstar provides the data and insights to help investors of all types weigh those choices in their decision making. Our Investable World initiative aims to simplify sustainable investing, making it more understandable, engaging, and actionable for investors.

Morningstar can offer data, research, and experts to help you with your stories about ESG investing. Check out our breadth of products and services, read all of Morningstar's best ESG research, and find Morningstar Sustainalytics' resources here.

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Latest Research

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Global Sustainable Fund Flows

This report explores activity in the global sustainable funds universe within the past quarter, detailing regional flows, assets, and launches.

Global sustainable funds attracted $18 billion of net new money in Q2 2023 – compared with over $31 billion in the previous quarter – as sticky inflation, rising interest rates, and recession fears continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

U.S. Sustainable Fund Flows

This report examines sustainable fund flows, assets, and trends in the United States in the past quarter.

Investors pulled $635 million from sustainable funds in the United States in Q2 2023. The decline eased from $5 billion-plus losses in the two previous quarters but marked the third consecutive quarter of outflows – adding to a total withdrawal of $11.4 billion from these funds over the past year. .

U.S. Monthly Fund Flows

Our monthly report includes analysis and commentary on U.S. mutual fund and ETF fund flows in a visual format.

Long-term mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in the United States shed $24 billion in August 2023, a small sum relative to their $25 trillion asset base.

2022 U.S. Sustainable Funds Landscape

Our annual landscape report examines the growth, performance, and changing nature of this emerging fund group.

Flows into sustainable funds in the United States fell to $3.1 billion in 2022, their lowest level in seven years, against a challenging macroeconomic backdrop.

The graph shows quarterly global sustainable fund flows, assets, and launches in Europe, the United States, and the rest of the world, in Q2 2023.

Q2 2023 Global Sustainable Fund Flows: The exhibit above shows quarterly global sustainable fund flows for Europe, the U.S., and the rest of the world, since Q2 2020.

Investing in Times of Climate Change

This report provides an updated view of the evolving global landscape of climate funds.

Public Pensions Overwhelmingly Vote for ESG

Morningstar’s research finds that pension funds showed a higher rate of support for ESG shareholder resolutions compared with support from general shareholders.

Analysis of Asset Managers' ESG Commitment Levels

We published the results of 108 asset managers’ Morningstar ESG Commitment Level assessments, which aim to help investors better understand which asset managers are committed to delivering the sustainability outcomes that best meet investors' preferences.

Anti-ESG Funds Make Noise. Here's What They Look Like.

In this study, we identify and analyze 27 anti-ESG funds in the Morningstar Direct database.

Proxy-Voting Insights: BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street

In this report, we examine how the Big Three voted on 100 key environmental and social resolutions from 2021 to March 2023, aiming to assist investors in evaluating alignment with their own priorities.

SFDR Article 8 and Article 9 Funds: Q1 2023 in Review

This report provides an update on the rapidly evolving landscape of Article 8 and Article 9 funds at the end of the first quarter 2023, examining flows, assets, and products.

Morningstar Sustainability Atlas

This report examines the sustainability profiles of Morningstar's 48 country-specific equity indexes.

Proxy Voting Insights: Voting on Politics

This paper looks at all U.S. shareholder resolutions on lobbying and political activity over the last three proxy years, assessing how the top 10 U.S. asset managers are voting on this topic generally and with respect to climate matters.

Analysis of Asset Managers' Votes on Key Shareholder Resolutions

This paper is an analysis of trends in shareholder resolutions over the past three years and evaluates how the top 20 asset managers in the United States voted on 241 key shareholder resolutions in the 2022 proxy season.

Water, Water. Everywhere?: How are Asset Managers Responding?

This report examines the opportunity COP27 brings to clarify the links between water risk and climate change and set the important context for asset managers' active ownership activities related to water in 2023 and beyond.

ESG Reporting: Asset Managers Express Divergent Views

In this paper, we examine the comment letters from 20 large asset managers responding to the International Sustainability Standards Board's draft climate and sustainability reporting standards.

Asset Managers' Responses to SEC's Proposed Rule on Climate Disclosure

In this report, we examine the 10 largest U.S. asset managers' responses to the SEC's proposed rule on climate disclosures.

Proxy Voting: Managers Focus on Environmental and Social Themes

In this report, we dissect the current voting policies of 25 large asset managers and analyze the key E&S themes they cover.

Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative

In this paper, we discuss the wide range of net-zero commitments and compare the approaches taken by the three largest asset managers.

Methodology

Click here to see all signature methodology.

Ratings

ESG Risk Ratings and the Morningstar Sustainability Rating for funds help investors identify and understand financially material ESG risks of their investments.
Country Risk Ratings measure the risk to a country’s long-term prosperity by assessing how sustainably it is managing its wealth.

Carbon Risk Data and Ratings

The Low Carbon Transition Rating helps investors understand businesses abilities to transition to lower carbon usage.
The Physical Climate Risk Metrics enable investors to assess the risks that companies face due to the physical hazards brought on by climate change.
The Carbon Risk Rating allows investors to understand carbon risks facing companies due to their own operations and products and services.
The Morningstar Low Carbon Designation supports the alignment of investment portfolios to a future low carbon economy.

Morningstar’s Sustainable Investing Framework addresses the critical need for clarity in the field. It provides a straightforward way to understand investor motivations for seeking sustainable investments and outlines the range of activities associated with sustainable investing.

Investors can address sustainability concerns by applying exclusions, limiting ESG risk, seeking ESG opportunities, practicing active ownership, targeting sustainability themes, or assessing impact.

Media Relations Contacts

Reach out to a member of our global team in your region with any questions or media requests.

U.S. Media Inquiries

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Media Hotline +1 312 696-6037

EMEA and UK Media Inquiries

ukmedia@morningstar.com

Asia Media Inquiries

asiamarcom@morningstar.com

Indexes and Sustainalytics media inquiries

Tim Benedict, tim.benedict@morningstar.com

PitchBook Media Inquiries

PR@pitchbook.com

Wealth Media Inquiries

Scott Gilmore, scott.gilmore@morningstar.com