The performance of anti-ESG ETFs in the United States

The performance of 18 equity Anti-ESG Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) traded in the USA is examined in this article. These ETFs seek to fulfill the needs of investors who believe that investing which seeks to meet the goals of various stakeholders by applying environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria does not align with the interests of shareholders. The performance of these ETFs is assessed against the S&P 500 Index and the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF, which is one of the biggest ESG ETFs in the USA. Based on our results, most of the Anti-ESG ETFs fall short when compared to the broad market index and the selected ESG ETF. Underperformance is verified for the majority of Anti-ESG ETFs, both in terms of absolute and risk-adjusted return terms.