Covid-19 impact: ESG returns likely to be in focus amid market volatility

An analysis of an index which tracks the performance of such companies versus the broader market shows wide outperformance

Investment in companies which attempt to follow environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards are likely to be in focus, even as the markets swing wildly amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

An analysis of an index that tracks the performance of such companies versus the broader market shows wide outperformance. The MSCI India ESG Leaders Gross Total Return USD Index has done better than the MSCI India Index over one-month, three-month, and six-month periods, as well as over longer time periods.

The difference in returns has ranged between 0.5 per cent and 6 per cent over one-, three-, and six-month periods. They