NEW YORK CITY, November 12 (The Wall Street Journal/WNM) – Funds which market themselves as investors in companies with environmental, social and governance (ESG) have taken in around $13.5 billion in new money in the first three quarters of 2019, according to financial services firm Morningstar (https://www.morningstar.com/articles/952254/sustainable-investing-interest-translating-into-actual-investments).

However, many such portfolios are not as clean as investors would expect, writes The Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-esg-funds-are-all-still-invested-in-oil-and-gas-companies-11573468200): Although most top funds exclude arms manufacturers, casino operators and tobacco companies, they have only slowly reduced their exposure to fossil fuels. Eight of the ten largest sustainability funds in the United States are still invested in oil and gas companies.

For example, Exxon Mobil and other energy shares account for 4% of BlackRock’s iShares ESG MSCI USA ETF, Occidental Petroleum and other energy shares make up about 4% of Vanguard Group’s FTSE Social Index Fund and another large ESG funds.