Green shoots of hope: How sustainable is performance spike in ESG funds post-pandemic?

Covid-19 will trigger 'skyward surge' in impact investing, experts argue

James Baxter-Derrington
clock • 5 min read

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic will trigger a "skyward surge in sustainable, responsible and impactful investing" due to "structural tailwinds" associated with strong ESG management, according to several investment professionals, who believe investors will "long remember" how companies have behaved in the current crisis.

The short-term outperformance of ESG portfolios, however, could be the result of the plummeting oil price according to some, following the recent oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. The issue of corporate governance has come to the fore over recent weeks, with thousands of end consumers threatening to boycott chains including Wetherspoons, Sports Direct and Topshop for refusing to pay their staff, or for remaining open amid ambiguity regarding what is classed as an "essential business". Active v Passive: Which strategy is better suited to ESG investing? According to data...

To continue reading this article...

Join Investment Week for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
  • Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
  • Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
  • Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
  • Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes

Join now

 

Already an Investment Week
member?

Login

More on Markets

Retail investors back gold to be most valuable asset class

Retail investors back gold to be most valuable asset class

Faith in gold higher than last year

Patrick Brusnahan
clock 20 May 2025 • 1 min read
Plain English Finance's Andrew Craig: Passive zealots fail to see the whole board game

Plain English Finance's Andrew Craig: Passive zealots fail to see the whole board game

Growth and innovation thwarted

Andrew Craig
clock 20 May 2025 • 4 min read
Market Movers blog: 2025's biggest IPO CATL sees shares soar at Hong Kong launch

Market Movers blog: 2025's biggest IPO CATL sees shares soar at Hong Kong launch

Latest news and analysis

Investment Week
clock 19 May 2025 • 1 min read
Trustpilot
Loading page