Sustainable funds gain scale in private credit, reaching R$ 60 billion and beating the CDI (Brazilian interbank deposit rate).

After moving from hype to skepticism, sustainable funds are beginning to gain scale in Brazil in a less noisy and more structured phase. The discipline of analysis is starting to yield results, while large asset managers are entering a game that previously seemed restricted to niche firms and strategies.

Data from Anbima shows that funds classified as IS, for sustainable investment, reached R$ 45.9 billion in net assets in April 2026, compared to R$ 28.1 billion in December 2024. Compared to December 2023, when they totaled R$ 7.5 billion, the volume has multiplied by more than six.

The growth is also evident in the number of products. The number of IS funds increased from 92 in December 2023 to 177 in December 2024 and reached 202 in April 2026. Including sustainability-related funds, the market approaches R$ 60 billion and has over 330,000 investors.

The recent surge comes after almost three full years since the Anbima rules for classifying IS funds came into effect in 2022. This track record is beginning to confront one of the resistances to the topic: the perception that sustainable funds would sacrifice profitability in the name of an environmental, social, or governance agenda.

According to Carlos Takahashi, director of Anbima, there is already a time frame for comparing sustainable products and traditional funds with similar characteristics. "We believe the difference occurs more in the long term, but this window already shows very positive results," he says.

About half of the IS funds with profitability in the last 12 months outperformed the CDI (Brazilian interbank deposit rate), which was 14.8%, in a market that struggled to beat it. According to Anbima's April fund bulletin, the average profitability of fixed income strategies over 12 months was 11.9%, and that of multi-market funds was 13.7%.

This new phase of sustainable funds in Brazil is driven by fixed income, not by thematic equity funds, as was the case in the first wave of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investments.

According to data from Anbima, of the R$45.9 billion in IS funds in April 2026, R$33.9 billion were in fixed income, about 74% of the total. Next are FIPs, with 11%, FIDCs, with 5%, and multi-market and equity funds, both with 4%.

According to Takahashi, this movement is directly linked to the development of the private credit market. The increase in the issuance of debentures, CRAs, CRIs, FIDCs, and infrastructure debentures has created more eligible assets for asset managers to structure sustainable products.

This growth has also shown that ESG risk analysis can be a differentiator in credit assessment. In sectors such as infrastructure, agribusiness, real estate, and energy, the evaluation of environmental, social, and governance practices has ceased to be merely reputational. It has begun to influence risk, rating , pricing, and repayment capacity.

According to BNP Paribas Asset Management Brazil, incorporating ESG criteria into the analysis of issuers helped the asset manager avoid exposure to companies involved in recent defaults , reinforcing the idea that sustainability in credit is less associated with marketing and more with risk management.

“Many credit managers have had problems with defaults , and we never have. Because none of those companies went through our ESG analysis. And so, we came out of that phase proving to investors the value of this, in addition to reducing volatility,” says Henri Rysman, manager and head of private credit and ESG specialist at BNP Paribas Asset Management Brazil.

At SulAmérica Investimentos, Daniela Gamboa states that the ESG fund family totals approximately R$ 14 billion and that a significant portion of the recent growth has been concentrated in private credit. "Investors realized that it was possible to combine the attractive returns of fixed income with financing from issuers with good socio-environmental practices, and this yields a good return," says the head of private credit.

For Takahashi, this movement marks a turning point in the industry. Niche asset managers were fundamental in paving the way and stimulating the market, but scaling depends on the entry of large firms with distribution capabilities in banks, platforms, pension funds, private banking, and retail networks. "The big firms are incorporating this as a standard practice within their asset management," he says.

Régia Capital is an example of this combination of specialization and scale. Created from a partnership between JGP and BB Asset, the asset manager became operational in May 2024 with approximately R$ 500 million under management. In April of this year, it surpassed R$ 16 billion, with a significant portion in net private credit funds and microcredit FIDCs for renewable energy.

Who buys

NeoFeed spoke with BB Asset, Bradesco Asset, Itaú Asset, SulAmérica, BNP Paribas Asset Management, Vinci Compass, and Régia Capital, which together claim to manage over R$ 85 billion in sustainable strategies or strategies with ESG integration.

Based on conversations with asset managers, growth has been driven by three segments: institutional investors, pension funds, and wealth management, especially private banking and family offices.

In the institutional market, the demand combines a long-term horizon, greater governance, and regulatory pressure. Pension funds, foundations, insurance companies, RPPS (Brazilian public pension funds), and supplementary pension entities have begun to view IS funds not only as a sustainable investment thesis but also as a way to incorporate ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria into investment policies in a more formal, auditable, and comparable manner.

At BNP Paribas Asset Management Brazil, the base evolved in stages. First came European insurance companies with operations in Brazil, seeking to replicate locally practices already adopted by their parent companies. Then came institutional investors, such as pension funds, foundations, and RPPS (Brazilian public pension funds). More recently, according to Rysman, there has been a growing demand for exclusive IS mandates from closed-end supplementary pension entities.

“This movement reinforces that the agenda is no longer concentrated in niches and is expanding consistently among different investor profiles,” says Rysman.

SulAmérica Investimentos sees a similar dynamic. The largest volume of the firm's IS strategy is in private pension funds. However, when the intentional search is for the ESG or IS label, pension funds stand out, also driven by Previc Resolution No. 23.

In the high-income segment, growth follows a different logic. Advancement is driven less by regulatory requirements and more by portfolio alignment, asset preservation, reputation, and legacy.

At Bradesco Asset, analyst Yara Formigoni says there is growing interest from private banking and family offices. "These investors have been seeking to align their portfolios with values linked to sustainability, without sacrificing returns and risk management."

For now, the retail sector still appears to be a more nascent area. The exception lies with younger audiences, which some asset managers are already seeing incorporating sustainability as a natural part of their investment decisions.

At BB Asset, the number of investors aged 17 and under in sustainable funds has grown by more than 2,100% in the last 18 months. However, according to industry analysts, expansion into the large retail market still depends on financial education, comparable performance, and large-scale distribution.

“We are seeing both an institutional movement, driven by regulation and governance, and a grassroots movement, driven by generational transformation,” says Fabricio Reis, commercial director of BB Asset.

In addition to domestic growth, some asset managers see room for Brazilian sustainable funds to attract more foreign capital.

Régia Capital, Itaú Asset, Vinci Compass, and BNP Paribas Asset Management cite the interest of international investors—especially European, multilateral, development banks, and sovereign wealth funds—in investments related to energy transition, bioeconomy, carbon credits, nature-based solutions, and critical minerals.

“There is no shortage of resources to invest in sustainable funds, but rather a lack of comfort on the part of these institutions to write checks for local players,” says Bragança, commercial director of Régia Capital.

What's coming next?

With this audience and these perspectives in mind, the asset managers interviewed for this report have at least 12 launches completed or planned related to sustainable funds this year — considering products already launched, funds currently raising capital, strategies in their final stages, and structures still under discussion.

Most of the data confirms the shift in the industry's profile: new products are less focused on thematic equity funds and more geared towards private credit, pensions, infrastructure, decarbonization, critical minerals, carbon, bioeconomy, and climate solutions.

At BB Asset, the firm launched BB Renda Fixa Crédito Privado ASG LP IS RL in 2026, its first self-managed IS credit fund, and made a public offering of BB Ore Régia Capital Minerais Críticos FIC FIP, linked to the energy transition.

At Régia Capital, the asset manager is preparing an IS-incentivized debenture fund for major platforms, a high-yield credit fund, and is on a roadshow for a Critical Minerals Private Equity Fund, selected in a public call by BNDESPar and Vale, with an estimated mobilization of around R$ 1 billion. It is also discussing the structuring of a carbon fund.

In the retirement savings sector, Itaú Asset, SulAmérica, and BNP Paribas Asset Management Brasil have recent or developing products. Itaú is preparing an ESG fixed-income strategy for private pension plans; SulAmérica launched a pension fund with a partner insurance company in 2025; and BNP is in the final stages of launching an open-ended IS credit pension fund.

In private markets, Vinci Compass launched Vinci Impacto e Retorno V, targeting R$1.2 billion and focusing on medium-sized companies in the agribusiness, healthcare, retail, and service sectors, with at least 20% of the committed capital allocated to companies in the Northeast and the Legal Amazon region.

“We have observed a consistent evolution in interest in sustainability-related strategies, especially in asset classes such as private equity, credit, and real assets, where it is possible to capture opportunities directly linked to the climate transition and the efficient use of natural resources,” says Julya Sotto Mayor Wellisch, partner and global head of legal, compliance, and sustainability at Vinci Compass.

Despite the growth, IS funds are still small compared to the Brazilian fund industry, representing less than 1% of total assets. According to Takahashi, the next leap depends on three fronts: the growth of large asset managers, the development of the credit and infrastructure markets, and Brazil's increased capacity to attract foreign capital for energy transition, green economy, and sustainable infrastructure.

The country, he says, needs to "sell its strengths better." COP30 demonstrated a consistent public-private partnership and a real agenda for sustainable investments, but Brazil still communicates little about the quality of its market infrastructure, regulation, and opportunities.

The challenge includes currency risk, investment vehicles, blended finance, multilateral organizations, development banks, and initiatives such as Eco Invest, the Climate Fund, and calls for proposals from BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank).

"I have no doubt that the perspective is not only to maintain, but to exponentially increase the growth of assets in sustainable funds, which will be relevant in the industry due to the potential that Brazil has," says Takahashi.