The number of indexes globally increased 4.43 per cent in the last year, led again by ESG (environmental, social, and governance) indexes which grew to new records, says the Index Industry Association (IIA). Its sixth annual global benchmark survey says although overall growth for 2022 (4.43 per cent) slightly trailed 2021’s pace of nearly five per cent for the industry, the number of ESG indexes globally grew 55 per cent and surpassed 50,000 worldwide across asset classes for the first time. The convergence of two major trends over the last three years – the rapid increase in ESG and fixed income indexes – resulted in the number of ESG fixed income indexes increasing by a record 95.8 per cent, smashing the previous record of 61.09 per cent in 2021. Equity ESG indexes grew at a slower, but extremely rapid rate of 24.15 per cent and, for the first time, were outnumbered by fixed income ESG indexes.
- PWC