Some of the most remarkable growth in climate-related mutual funds and exchange-traded funds is being fueled by the evolution of investors’ expectations: Many now want environmental issues at the center of their portfolio, not on the periphery.
“I now hear from the majority of my clients that they want their entire portfolio to address environmental issues,” rather than just owning a fund that gives them exposure to a highly focused sector like clean technology, says Mitchell Kraus, a partner in Capital Intelligence Associates, a wealth-management firm in Santa Monica, Calif.