ESG Investing: January 2026
Washington, DC; February 27, 2026— The combined assets of mutual funds and ETFs that invest according to ESG criteria increased by $11.60 billion, to $629.04 billion in January, according to the Investment Company Institute’s monthly surveys.
Total Net Assets of Funds That Invest According to ESG Criteria*
Millions of dollars
| Jan 2026 | Dec 2025 | % Change | Jan 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broad ESG Focus | 243,728 | 240,160 | 1.5 | 238,625 |
| Environmental Focus | 83,527 | 80,638 | 3.6 | 66,986 |
| Religious Values Focus | 181,021 | 177,485 | 2.0 | 164,711 |
| Other Focus | 120,761 | 119,152 | 1.4 | 115,332 |
| Total | 629,037 | 617,435 | 1.9 | 585,654 |
* Categories include data for mutual funds that invest primarily in other mutual funds and ETFs that invest primarily in other ETFs.
Note: Components may not add to the total because of rounding.
Flows of Funds That Invest According to ESG Criteria*
Millions of dollars
| Jan 2026 | Dec 2025 | Jan–Jan 2026 | Jan–Jan 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broad ESG Focus | -319 | -8 | -319 | 145 |
| Environmental Focus | 512 | 758 | 512 | 1,318 |
| Religious Values Focus | -301 | -224 | -301 | -463 |
| Other Focus | -826 | -1,514 | -826 | -939 |
| Total | -935 | -988 | -935 | 62 |
* Categories include data for mutual funds that invest primarily in other mutual funds and ETFs that invest primarily in other ETFs.
Note: Components may not add to the total because of rounding.
Highlights: Funds that invest according to ESG criteria had a net outflow of $935 million in January, compared with an outflow of $988 million in December.
Funds with a broad ESG focus posted an outflow of $319 million in January, compared with an outflow of $8 million in December. Funds with an environmental focus posted an inflow of $512 million in January, compared with an inflow of $758 million in December. Funds with a religious values focus had an outflow of $301 million in January, compared with an outflow of $224 million in December. Other funds with an ESG focus posted an outflow of $826 million in January, compared with an outflow of $1.51 billion in December.
Number of Funds That Invest According to ESG Criteria*
| Jan 2026 | Dec 2025 | Jan 2025 | |
| Broad ESG Focus | 331 | 333 | 400 |
| Environmental Focus | 105 | 106 | 123 |
| Religious Values Focus | 202 | 201 | 201 |
| Other Focus | 97 | 99 | 111 |
| Total | 735 | 739 | 835 |
* Categories include data for mutual funds that invest primarily in other mutual funds and ETFs that invest primarily in other ETFs.
About ICI’s Data
ICI Research examines the prospectuses of funds to classify those that invest according to ESG criteria using the same approach that it does for other categories across all funds. In particular, ICI looks for language indicating that a fund places an important and explicit emphasis on environmental, social, or governance criteria to achieve certain goals.
ICI classifies ESG-criteria funds into groups based on the frameworks or guidelines expressed at the forefront of their principal investment strategies sections.
- Broad ESG focus: These funds focus broadly on ESG matters. They consider all three elements of ESG (rather than focusing on one or two of the considerations) or may include ESG in their names. Index funds in this group may track a socially responsible index such as the MSCI KLD 400 Social Index.
- Environmental focus: These funds focus more narrowly on environmental matters. They may include terms such as alternative energy, climate change, clean energy, environmental solutions, or low carbon in their principal investment strategies or fund names.
- Religious values focus: These funds invest in accordance with specific religious values.
- Other focus: These funds focus more narrowly on some combination of environmental, social, and/or governance elements, but not all three. They often negatively screen to eliminate certain types of investments.
Data for prior dates reflect revisions due to data adjustments, reclassifications, and changes in the number of funds reporting.
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