We present a comprehensive analysis of the performance and flows of U.S. actively-managed equity mutual funds during the COVID-19 crisis of 2020. We find that most active funds underperform passive benchmarks during the crisis, contradicting a popular hypothesis. Funds with high sustainability ratings perform well, as do funds with high star ratings. Fund outflows largely extend pre-crisis trends. Investors favor funds that apply exclusion criteria and funds with high sustainability ratings, especially environmental ones. Our finding that investors remain focused on sustainability during this major crisis suggests they view sustainability as a necessity rather than a luxury good.

More on this topic

BFI Working Paper·Apr 7, 2025

Non-User Utility and Market Power: The Case of Smartphones

Leonardo Bursztyn, Rafael Jiménez-Durán, Aaron Leonard, Filip Milojević, and Christopher Roth
Topics: Financial Markets
BFI Working Paper·Apr 7, 2025

Asset Embeddings

Xavier Gabaix, Ralph Koijen, Robert J. Richmond, and Motohiro Yogo
Topics: Financial Markets
BFI Working Paper·Mar 20, 2025

Credit Card Entrepreneurs

Ufuk Akcigit, Raman S. Chhina, Seyit Cilasun, Javier Miranda, and Nicolas Serrano-Velarde
Topics: Financial Markets