Asset Management

BlackRock, Amundi could face ‘substantial’ costs from ESG downgrade reversal

Major fund houses may have to upgrade their ESG funds again after new guidance

More than a hundred passive funds that dropped out of the highest ESG rating could be forced back in
More than a hundred passive funds that dropped out of the highest ESG rating could be forced back in Photo: Getty Images

BlackRock, Amundi and other asset managers that downgraded swathes of their greenest passive funds may be forced to upgrade them again, incurring “substantial” costs after softer guidance on the EU's ESG rules.

The European Commission clarified key definitions within the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation on 14 April.

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