ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund plans to launch an ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) fund which will invest in companies that have a strong focus on sustainability.

The new fund offer will be open for investment between September 21 and October 5.

Besides investing 80-100 per cent in companies with strong ESG score, the fund can invest in securities of foreign companies with a high ESG score.

The selection process for investment will be based on internal research and Nifty 100 ESG constituents, said the fund house. ICICI Prudential ESG Fund addresses the growing need of responsible investing and allows investors to benefit from investing in companies which are able to maintain suitable ESG scores.

Nimesh Shah, Managing Director, ICICI Prudential AMC, said many studies have highlighted that companies with good ESG scores tick off most of the check-boxes for investing.

ESG-focused companies show better growth which may translate into better wealth creation for investors and could demonstrate better resilience in downturns, he said.

While it is in nascent stage in India, ESG-based investing has been popular globally with inflow touching $154 billion last year against $21 billion in 2009.

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