The Shanghai-listed Huatai-Pinebridge CSI Photovoltaic Industry ETF has raised more than a billion dollars in just a few weeks after it launched in the middle of last month.

As of the end of December, the ETF had net inflows of $1.41bn, which was also the largest registered monthly net inflow figure out of all globally listed ESG ETFs, according to a report by ETFGI.

Top 20 ESG ETFs/ETPs by net new assets in December 2020

Managed by Huatai-Pinebridge Investments, the ETF tracks the performance of the CSI Photovoltaic Industry Index, which is composed of no more than 40 A-share stocks that are engaged in photovoltaic industrial chain.

Huatai-Pinebridge Investments is a joint venture firm between Huatai Securities and Pinebridge Investments, with each holding a 49% stake in the JV and the remaining 2% owned by Suzhou New District High-Tech Industrial.

ESG ETFs have become popular among domestic investors in China, with total assets growing by 32.3% to $7.3bn in June from the end of 2019, according to a previous Cerulli report.

GLOBAL ESG ETFs REACH NEW MILESTONE

Separately, ETFGI noted that assets invested in ESG ETFs and ETPs reached a new milestone of $187bn globally at the end of last year, with assets increasing by 206% during the year.

In December, ESG ETFs and ETPs gathered net inflows of $18.46bn, bringing the year’s net inflows to $88.95bn, which is significantly greater than $27.8bn gathered in 2019.

Around 53.5% of the assets and 47% of ESG ETFs and ETPs are in Europe, the report noted.

Globally, there are 497 ESG ETFs and ETPs, with 1,452 listings from 113 providers listed on 35 exchanges in 29 countries, it added.