Oil and gas stocks outperformed fashionable environmental, social, and governance (ESG) companies in 2021. Despite getting hammered in the early days of the global health crisis, energy businesses have returned to prominence over the last year. Exxon Mobil climbed about 50 percent, Chevron advanced roughly 40 percent, ConocoPhillips soared 70 percent, and Suncor surged 42 percent. But it has been Exxon and Chevron that have allowed many global energy equity funds to surpass a plethora of U.S. and European sustainable funds. Many ESG energy exchange-traded funds (ETFs) underperformed the more conventional energy ETFs. The Parnassus Core Equity fund, which owns close to $23 billion in assets, increased 29 percent last year. The iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF enjoyed a 26.2 percent gain in 2021. In comparison, the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF soared nearly 40 percent, while the Vanguard Energy ETF swelled more than 42 percent. Market analysts note …