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The promotion of carbon-neutral investments is among the primary constituents of developing a carbon-neutral economy. This is even more important for emerging economies that have constrained financial markets. In this paper, using monthly data between 2011 and 2019, we study 6519 actively managed mutual funds in BRICS after sorting them into black, brown, and green categories based on their investment holdings. Our comparative performance shows that green funds outperform their counterparts for the entire sample and within-country assessment. We also document the volatility and market timing ability of green funds, mainly absent in high emission funds. The results remained robust for various definitions of performance. Our findings also indicate Chinese green funds perform better than those of other countries. This is attributed to the multiple ecologically friendly economic policies that China has adopted over the years. Based on the results, we propose various interventions that could foster the adaptability of a carbon-neutral investment landscape. [Display omitted] • We assess the performance of BRIC funds after segregating on carbon profiles. • The Green funds show better risk-adjusted performance than brown & black funds. • The low carbon funds exhibit market timing ability during the sample period. • We report strong evidence of volatility timing for green equity funds. • The results are encouraging for promoting a zero-carbon investment paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]