Investment funds that target companies with strong environmental, social and governance credentials are on a roll, with more than $22.9tn of assets estimated to be managed in such strategies, according to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance.

However, exclusive data provided to Financial News by MSCI and Broadridge which ranks more than 13,000 funds based on the ESG approach of their underlying investments, raises questions about whether funds with an official policy toward ESG bias have a discernible edge over those that do not employ such a rigorous screening process.