The ESG vs Impact Investing money flow dynamic has shown persistence: Lipper data confirms ESG ETF AUM reached $456B in June, versus impact fund AUM at $84B, though impact AUM grew 14% YoY compared to ESG’s 8%, showing faster proportional growth. Winner: It’s a tie. If you’re looking to trade more exotic products, maybe one rival offers better pricing than another, but on the most popular securities, it’s a dead heat. The research findings are based on survey data from the Impact Finance Research Consortium , a collaboration between the Wharton School, Harvard Business School, and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The ESG vs Impact Investing debate now includes AI integration. ESG funds increasingly adopt AI to screen governance risks, while impact investors are using data-driven tools to quantify job creation metrics, helping drive investor confidence and secondary market liquidity.