ESG Indexes & Funds
ESG Indexes are financial indexes that include ESG ratings and data in the measurement and tracking of firms' performance. ESG Funds are exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that are graded using ESG criteria and invest in companies based on their ESG ratings.
Considerations and Limitations
- Standardization: The range of criteria and data used for ESG ratings naturally leads to inconsistency across ESG indexes and funds. Each index and fund has its own standards for inclusion or exclusion, which can make it difficult to compare firms.
- Access: Many agencies require fees to access ESG data. Yahoo! Finance and FINRA provide free access to some index and fund data, and some subscription databases are available at UD.
Learn more about ESG Indexes and Funds here.
ESG Indexes
- Dow Jones Sustainability IndicesDJSI indices are designed for investors seeking to track equity markets and select investments based on sustainability activity.
- FTSE Russell Sustainable Investment IndicesFTSE Russell ESG ratings are used by investment manager in individual security selection and the creation of customer benchmarks for mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.
- MSCI ESG IndexesMSCI offers nearly 4000 equity & fixed income ESG indexes, providing broad ESG ratings coverage for over 10,000 companies.
- S&P ESG IndicesThe S&P ESG indices are broad-based, market-cap-weighted indices designed to measure the performance of securities meeting sustainability criteria, while maintaining similar overall industry group weights as their underlying benchmark.
ESG Funds
- Corporate Knights: Responsible FundsAnnual rankings of ESG and sustainable funds.
- Invest Your ValuesFrom As You Sow, a free online tool that analyzes the environmental and social impact of U.S. mutual funds, ETFs, and 401k plans.
- US SIF Sustainable Investment Funds & ETFs ChartA public tool meant for individual investors to compare cost, financial performance, screens and voting records of competing sustainable investment mutual funds and ETFs offered by US SIF's institutional member firms.
ESG Investment Research Tools
On the Web
- FINRA Market Data CenterA free resource for locating market information including stock quotes and other data on equities, options, and mutual funds.
- Yahoo! FinanceYahoo! Finance includes ESG scores from Sustainalytics in the "Sustainability" tab of stock and ETG pages.
Subscription Databases
- Davis Center for Portfolio ManagementThe Davis Center is designed to replicate a Wall Street buy-side firm, equipped with resources for investment research such as Bloomberg, FactSet, and Morningstar Direct.
- NetAdvantage This link opens in a new window
UD Library subscription database; search by index or fund.
