{"id":12063,"date":"2026-05-20T09:41:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T09:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/?p=12063"},"modified":"2026-05-20T09:41:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T09:41:38","slug":"esg-mutual-funds-in-india-2026-sbi-icici-hdfc-and-mirae-compared","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/mutual-fund\/esg-mutual-funds-in-india-2026-sbi-icici-hdfc-and-mirae-compared\/","title":{"rendered":"ESG Mutual Funds in India 2026: SBI, ICICI, HDFC and Mirae Compared"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Overview of the Indian ESG Fund Landscape<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

India had approximately 10 ESG-themed mutual funds by 2026, with a combined AUM of around \u20b915,000 crore. While small relative to the overall equity fund universe, the category is growing as BRSR disclosures improve the quality of ESG data available to fund managers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Detailed Fund Comparison<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Fund Name<\/th>AMC<\/th>AUM<\/th>Expense Ratio<\/th>3Y Return<\/th>Portfolio Focus<\/th><\/tr>
SBI Magnum ESG Fund<\/td>SBI MF<\/td>\u20b95,800 Cr<\/td>0.46% (Direct)<\/td>~14% CAGR<\/td>Quality + ESG screen<\/td><\/tr>
Mirae ESG Sector Leaders<\/td>Mirae Asset<\/td>\u20b9700 Cr<\/td>0.61% (Direct)<\/td>~13% CAGR<\/td>Sector leader ESG filter<\/td><\/tr>
Axis ESG Equity Fund<\/td>Axis MF<\/td>\u20b9900 Cr<\/td>0.58% (Direct)<\/td>~12% CAGR<\/td>Governance-heavy screen<\/td><\/tr>
Kotak ESG Opportunities<\/td>Kotak MF<\/td>\u20b91,300 Cr<\/td>0.40% (Direct)<\/td>~15% CAGR<\/td>Broad ESG, quality tilt<\/td><\/tr>
Quantum India ESG Equity<\/td>Quantum MF<\/td>\u20b9100 Cr<\/td>0.78% (Direct)<\/td>~11% CAGR<\/td>Strict ESG, small AUM<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What to Look for in an ESG Fund<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Portfolio holdings: Does it hold any companies under regulatory scrutiny? ESG screening methodology: Negative screen (exclusion) or positive (best-in-class)? Tracking difference vs. Nifty 50: ESG funds should not consistently lag by >2%. Expense ratio: ESG funds tend to charge slightly more – max 0.65% for direct plans. Fund manager’s ESG research capability: Dedicated ESG team or outsourced?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greenwashing Risk: How to Spot It<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fund named ‘ESG’ but top holdings include PSU energy companies with high emissions. No published ESG rating methodology or engagement policy. Holdings identical to the large-cap index with minor tweaks. Check: Does the fund exclude obvious ESG violators (specific companies with SEBI enforcement history)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bottom Line<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

SBI Magnum ESG Fund and Kotak ESG Opportunities offer the best combination of AUM liquidity, expense efficiency, and track record for 2026. New investors can start with \u20b9500 SIP in either via Lemonn’s mutual fund platform. Treat ESG funds as a satellite (10-15% of equity portfolio) until Indian ESG data matures further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Overview of the Indian ESG Fund Landscape India had approximately 10 ESG-themed mutual funds by 2026, with a combined AUM of around \u20b915,000 crore. While small relative to the overall equity fund universe, the category is growing as BRSR disclosures improve the quality of ESG data available to fund managers. Detailed Fund Comparison Fund Name […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_ayudawp_aiss_exclude":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mutual-fund"],"blocksy_meta":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ESG-Mutual-Funds-in-India-2026.png",890,593,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ESG-Mutual-Funds-in-India-2026-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ESG-Mutual-Funds-in-India-2026-300x200.png",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ESG-Mutual-Funds-in-India-2026-768x512.png",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ESG-Mutual-Funds-in-India-2026.png",890,593,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ESG-Mutual-Funds-in-India-2026.png",890,593,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ESG-Mutual-Funds-in-India-2026.png",890,593,false],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ESG-Mutual-Funds-in-India-2026-640x593.png",640,593,true],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ESG-Mutual-Funds-in-India-2026-96x96.png",96,96,true],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ESG-Mutual-Funds-in-India-2026-150x100.png",150,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Sanjit Chakrabortty","author_link":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/author\/sanjit-c\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Overview of the Indian ESG Fund Landscape India had approximately 10 ESG-themed mutual funds by 2026, with a combined AUM of around \u20b915,000 crore. While small relative to the overall equity fund universe, the category is growing as BRSR disclosures improve the quality of ESG data available to fund managers. Detailed Fund Comparison Fund Name…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12063"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12067,"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12063\/revisions\/12067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lemonn.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}