, Columnist
Money Managers and Greenwashing
Green bonds tick the ESG box, but what lies beneath?
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As environmental, social and governance issues become embedded in the architecture of money management, the custodians of wealth are discharging the "E" part of their obligations by buying green bonds.
Sales of the securities, which promise to fund environmentally sustainable practices, are booming. Moody's Investors Service reckons issuance is likely to pass $120 billion in 2017 after sales in the first nine months of the year beat 2016's total of $93 billion. Returns on the bonds have outpaced those delivered by conventional investment-grade debt in the past year.