Biodiversity Mutual Funds and ETFs: Characteristics, Performance, Risk, and Fees

TY - JOUR

T1 - Biodiversity Mutual Funds and ETFs

T2 - Characteristics, Performance, Risk, and Fees

AU - Fang, Fei

AU - Luo, Di

N1 - © 2026 by the authors. Submitted for possible open access publication under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.

PY - 2026/5/5

Y1 - 2026/5/5

N2 - This paper provides an exploratory analysis of biodiversity-themed funds and offers early evidence on their characteristics, performance, risk, fees, and sustainability met-rics. Using a sample of 24 open-end biodiversity funds (18 mutual funds and 6 ETFs), we find that these funds are predominantly European-domiciled equity funds, recently launched, small in size, and generally receive high sustainability ratings. However, both active and passive funds underperform their benchmarks over their short track records and charge higher fees than comparable funds, consistent with the early-stage development of this segment. We also examine fund manager characteristics and find no consistent relationship with performance. Our results highlight the need for greater fee transparency, and clearer communication of sustainability–return trade-offs.

AB - This paper provides an exploratory analysis of biodiversity-themed funds and offers early evidence on their characteristics, performance, risk, fees, and sustainability met-rics. Using a sample of 24 open-end biodiversity funds (18 mutual funds and 6 ETFs), we find that these funds are predominantly European-domiciled equity funds, recently launched, small in size, and generally receive high sustainability ratings. However, both active and passive funds underperform their benchmarks over their short track records and charge higher fees than comparable funds, consistent with the early-stage development of this segment. We also examine fund manager characteristics and find no consistent relationship with performance. Our results highlight the need for greater fee transparency, and clearer communication of sustainability–return trade-offs.

KW - biodiversity funds

KW - mutual funds

KW - ETFs

KW - fund performance

KW - sustainability

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105040175571

U2 - 10.3390/ijfs14050117

DO - 10.3390/ijfs14050117

M3 - Article

SN - 2227-7072

VL - 14

JO - International Journal of Financial Studies

JF - International Journal of Financial Studies

IS - 5

M1 - 117

ER -