Sovereign wealth funds turned a corner in sustainable finance in 2021

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are increasing their focus on sustainability-centred products. Their involvement comes as investors continue to push asset managers to take environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into consideration in search of better returns. 

SWFs' investments in the ESG space globally surged 215.3 per cent in 2021 to $22.7 billion, from $7.2 billion the previous year, revealed the data acquired by Finbold - a financial news platform. Over the same period, the number of deals increased from 19 to 37.

In 2019, their investment stood at $5.2 billion, while in 2018, the figure was $6 billion — a slight drop from 2017’s value of $6.6 billion. Over the past six years, 2016 recorded the least investment at $3.7 billion.

SWFs' involvement in the oil and gas space, on the other hand, dropped 46.9 per cent to $6.9 billion in 2021, from the previous year's figure of $13 billion.

Last year, too, recorded the lowest deals in oil and gas at eight. In 2019, the investments stood at $12.7 billion. SWFs also pumped $7 billion into black investments for 2017, dropping from 2016’s value of $10.4 billion.