ESG vs. Anti-ESG in Early 2025: A Reflective Perspective on Shifting Tides Mengdi Zhang After years of consistent inflows, the abrupt withdrawal of USD 8.6 billion from sustainable funds caught my attention when I initially reviewed Morningstar's Q1 2025 statistics (Morningstar, 2025, p. 1). My reaction was moderate scepticism, on the basis of how ESG once seemed a relentless trend. And more fundamental questions of corporate ethics are at stake: what Crane and Matten (2019) call “the study of business situations where the issues of right and wrong are addressed”. The moral issue becomes pronounced when considering the recent surge of anti-ESG products. Strive Asset Management launched a direct-indexing service in late 2024 that clearly rejects environmental, social, or governance criteria (Strive Asset Management, 2024, p. 2). I was conflicted when I read about this position: whilst a “profits-first” approach aligns with classical shareholder primacy, I also wondered if over...