Outflows from Legal and General Investment Management’s (LGIM) ETF have continued to mount this year as investors turn their back on ESG.
The asset manager has recorded $2.5bn outflows since the turn of the year, with investors redeeming $1.7bn from L&G US ESG Exclusions Paris Aligned UCITS ETF (RIUS) alone, as at 21 May, according to Bloomberg Intelligence data.
This was followed by the L&G Europe ESG Exclusions Emerging Markets Paris Aligned UCITS ETF (RIEU) which posted $365m outflows.
RIUS and RIEU now house $458m and $532m assets, respectively. It takes the total number of assets in LGIM's ETFs to $13.9bn AUM.
It marks a tough start to the year for the UK giant and comes following a dismal quarter for funds classified as Article 9 under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
Article 9 funds – both passive and active – recorded outflows of $4.3bn in Q1, according to Morningstar data, however, passive flows were actually in the black over the quarter.
While LGIM’s Paris-Aligned Benchmark (PAB) ETFs experienced the brunt of the outflows, LGIM’s thematic range also saw an asset exodus.
The $2.3bn L&G Cyber Security UCITS ETF (ISPY) – its largest ETF – has recorded $293m outflows.
Meanwhile, investors have pulled $140m and $124m from the L&G ROBO Global Robotics and Automation UCITS ETF (ROBO) and the L&G Battery Value-Chain UCITS ETF (BATT), respectively.
Bright spots in LGIM’s ETF range include the L&G India INR Government Bond UCITS ETF (TIGR), with inflows of $65m.
The AI boom also helped the L&G Artificial Intelligence UCITS EFT (AIAI) record $113m inflows while the L&G Gerd Kommer Multifactor Equity UCITS ETF (GERD) posted inflows of $94m.
The ETF has now gathered $222m assets since it launched in June last year as it looks to make itself a staple in German ETF savings plans.
The recent boost in commodities saw investors pour $167m into the L&G Multi-Strategy Enhanced Commodities UCITS ETF (ENCO).
The group has continued to expand its ETF range this year, launching the L&G Multi-Strategy Enhanced Commodities ex-Agriculture & Livestock UCITS ETF (XAGR) and the L&G Energy Transition Commodities UCITS ETF (ENTR) last month.
