ESG investing strategies: A bibliometric and systematic review

ABSTRACT This work examines the expansion of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investment strategies based on a combined bibliometric analysis–systematic review approach. Following PRISMA guidelines, 201 peer-reviewed articles published between 2011 and 2024 were acquired from Scopus database. The results show an annual growth rate of 30.7% in ESG strategy publications, with a spike after 2019, indicating increasing academic and industry interest. The review identifies seven major ESG investing strategies, among which ESG integration, negative screening, and engagement are the most widely applied. Evidence suggests that ESG integration tends to mitigate portfolio risk, whereas screening strategies often produce mixed results, partly because of rating differences among data providers. The study clarifies how these strategies are implemented in investment processes, summarizes their reported financial and sustainability outcomes, and highlights key limitations in current ESG data and ratings, suggesting future research on information structure, disclosure comparability, and rating alignment.