IMF claims sustainable funds perform as well as conventional equity funds

New research from the IMF revealed that the performance of sustainable funds is just as good as the performance from conventional equity funds.

“We don’t find conclusive evidence that sustainable investors underperform or outperform regular investors for similar types of investments,” Evan Papageorgiou, an author of the research, and deputy division chief in the Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the IMF, told CNBC on Wednesday.

The Washington-based lender estimates there are now over 1,500 equity funds with an “explicit sustainability mandate,” controlling nearly $600bn in assets, up from roughly $200bn in 2010.

They currently represent around 2% of the total investment in the world.

Sustainable funds’ popularity among investors is on the rise as the importance of good track records on environmental, social or governance issues increases.

These investments take into account factors like companies’ carbon footprints, employee diversity or accounting practices among others.

Investors won’t sacrifice returns for putting their money in sustainable funds with ESG values (environmental, social and governance), the study concluded.