ANALYSIS OF ESG MUTUAL FUNDS IN INDIA – A NEW DIMENSION OF SUSTAINABLE INVESTING

Abstract

Sustainable Investing (SI) refers to any investment approach integrating ESG factors into selecting and managing investments. One of the most significant instruments of SI is ESG Mutual Funds. Considering the gravity of ESG mutual funds as an effective medium of SI, this study analyzes the performance of ESG mutual funds in India. This study employs both exploratory and empirical methods to shed light on the present landscape of ESG Mutual Funds. A secondary dataset constructed based on individual mutual funds’ databases, reports provided by AMFI and NSE. SBIEF has the largest fund size among the reported funds, while QBSF has the smallest. The expense ratio is particularly high for INVF, AISF, ABSLF, and SBIEF. In contrast, MANF has the lowest expense ratio. QF is the best performer in up markets with high risk but excellent returns and strong downside protection. ICICIEF provides solid returns with the lowest risk, excelling in down markets. INVF and SBIEF offer balanced performance.