June 9 (Reuters) - (This June 8 story has been corrected to show figures cover 27 funds, not 26, in paragraph 12)

Funds that market themselves as being opposed to environmental, social or governance (ESG) investment considerations have seen a fall-off in new investor deposits, research firm Morningstar said on Thursday.

So-called "anti-ESG" funds have drawn attention as U.S. Republican politicians, often from energy-producing states, attack the growing attention paid to ESG factors by companies and investors.

One of the best-known funds, the Strive U.S. Energy ETF (DRLL.P) took in more than $300 million in the month after it launched last August. Strive co-founder Vivek Ramaswamy stepped down as executive chairman in February to run for U.S. president.

But flows into Strive and other such firms have since slowed, Morningstar said in a new research paper and in additional data supplied on Friday.

After peaking at $377 million during the third quarter of 2022, more than five times the previous quarterly record, total net new deposits then fell to $188 million in the last three months of 2022 and were $183 million in the first three months of 2023.

Over April and May the funds took in $58 million, said Morningstar spokesperson Erin Parro. She said the current trend "still seems like a drizzle" compared with the downpour of new money during the third quarter of 2022.

Report co-author Alyssa Stankiewicz said in a telephone interview that most asset managers still see ESG risks, such as climate change, worth considering.

"Investing against ESG principles can seem too restrictive for some people," she said.

Stankiewicz cautioned other factors could be depressing flows however, including the funds' fees and mixed market performance that worked against many types of funds. Overall long-term U.S. mutual funds and ETFs faced outflows in seven of the nine months from July 2022 until March 2023.

Inflows to Strive accounted for the majority of net new deposits to anti-ESG funds in each of the three most recent quarters and the current one, according to Morningstar. The Ohio-based firm now has some $750 million in assets, said Strive governance director Cory Skerl in a telephone interview on Friday.

Despite challenging markets, "We’ve solidified a position as a fast-growing asset manager," Skerl said.

Total assets among the 27 anti-ESG funds Morningstar tracked stood around $2.1 billion as of March 31. A year earlier the figure was $282 million, but that excluded funds that had not yet launched, or adopted anti-ESG policies.

The funds practice anti-ESG efforts in various ways such as through proxy voting policies, or by favoring certain types of companies.

A fund that focused on sectors out of favor with ESG investors, like fossil fuels and tobacco, the Constrained Capital ESG Orphans ETF (ORFN.P)said this month it will be liquidated "due to inability to attract sufficient investment assets."

Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Marguerita Choy

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