Top Fund’s Blacklist Shows ESG Coming for Emerging Markets

Top Fund’s Blacklist Shows ESG Coming for Emerging Markets

A top-performing emerging-market bond fund is avoiding investments in Russia, China and Saudi Arabia as the three countries score too low in its ratings for environmental, social and governance risks.The $1.5 billion Candriam SRI Bond Emerging Markets Fund has outperformed almost 90% of peers in the past three years and screens for ESG factors. The bottom 25% of countries on the fund's ranking get blacklisted, no matter how big a role they play in the bond world.