The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. This is frequently quoted from Milton Friedman, who responds with his doctrine to a corporate’s social responsibility towards its shareholders. This former economic approach highlights therewith the entrustment of investments solely for shareholder value maximization and declares a minimum of social responsibility towards the public, the society, and the environment. Based on a traditional background, investors have pursued financial returns as a measure of their investment outcomes.
Contrary to earlier deliberations, the mutual fund industry extended an investment typology in the United States (U.S.) in the seventies, which incorporates environmental and social criteria, and later on governance aspects in investment decisions.
Successively, investors started to track the supportive and harmful corporate activities on society and environment they had invested in. This new approach called sustainable investing describes mutual funds striving for financial success while honoring the relationship with and the impact on stakeholders.
The concept challenges the classical risk-return relationship that either maximizes the expected return for a certain level of risk or minimizes risk for a favored level of expected return.
Nowadays, sustainable issues such as global warming and child labor do reject earlier attitudes of investment approaches reflected by the quote of Milton Friedman introducing an alternative view on investment policy.
Since stakeholder worldwide are raising concerns about sustainable issues, expectations towards financial markets are increasing addressing these concerns and deliberating on them. The overall perception changes from capital maximization to the idea that the highest use of capital is to make money working beneficial for the betterment of life. Sustainable investing purposes of institutional investors highlight an increasingly stronger commitment towards ESG issues. Collected data from a survey of BNP Paribas (2019) indicate that the share of asset owners and asset managers who invested at least 25% of their funds in ESG funds was equal to 48% and 53%, respectively, in 2017. Two years later, the share of asset owner and asset manager increased considerably to 72% and 62%, respectively, in 2019.
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background and Relevance of the Topic
1.2 Explanation of the Research Problem and Thesis Outline
2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Modern Portfolio Theory and Diversification
2.2 Diversification Measures
2.3 Factor Models
3 LITERATURE REVIEW OF ESG FUNDS CHARACTERISTICS AND FUNDS DIVER- SICATION
3.1 History and Conceptual Definition of Responsible Investing
3.2 Characteristics and Development of Responsible Investing
3.3 Drivers and Incentives of Responsible Investing
3.4 Responsible Investing and Funds Value Creation
3.5 Responsible Investing and Funds Diversification
4 EMPIRICAL METHODOLOGY AND DATA
4.1 Methodological Approach and Hypotheses
4.2 Variable Explanations
4.3 Descriptive Statistics
5 EMPICIAL FINDINGS
5.1 CAPM and Fama-French Regressions
5.2 ESG Effects on Volatility, Idiosyncratic Risk, and VaR
5.3 Summarized Evaluation on Diversification
6 DISCUSSION
6.1 Theoretical and Practical Implications
6.2 Limitations and Future Research
7 CONCLUSION
Research Objectives and Key Themes
This thesis examines the relationship between Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria and portfolio diversification within mutual funds. It seeks to empirically verify whether the integration of sustainability factors leads to diversification disadvantages, as suggested by traditional interpretations of Modern Portfolio Theory, or whether it provides diversification benefits and risk management improvements for institutional and private investors.
- Evolution and definition of responsible investment strategies.
- Application of Modern Portfolio Theory to ESG-screened assets.
- Empirical analysis of diversification effects using quintile-based portfolios.
- Investigation of ESG effects on volatility, idiosyncratic risk, and Value at Risk (VaR).
- Evaluation of abnormal returns through CAPM and Fama-French regression models.
Excerpt from the Book
1.1 Background and Relevance of the Topic
“The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits” (Friedman, 1970, p. 1) is frequently quoted from Milton Friedman, who responds with his doctrine to a corporate’s social responsibility towards its shareholders. This former economic approach highlights therewith the entrustment of investments solely for shareholder value maximization and declares a minimum of social responsibility towards the public, the society, and the environment. Based on a traditional background, investors have pursued financial returns as a measure of their investment outcomes (Luo & Bhattacharya, 2009).
Contrary to earlier deliberations, the mutual fund industry extended an investment typology in the United States (U.S.) in the seventies, which incorporates environmental and social criteria, and later on governance aspects in investment decisions (Barreda-Tarrazona et al., 2011). Successively, investors started to track the supportive and harmful corporate activities on society and environment they had invested in. This new approach called sustainable investing describes mutual funds striving for financial success while honoring the relationship with and the impact on stakeholders (Varma & Nofsinger, 2012). The concept challenges the classical risk-return relationship that either maximizes the expected return for a certain level of risk or minimizes risk for a favored level of expected return (Barnett & Salomon, 2006). Nowadays, sustainable issues such as global warming and child labor do reject earlier attitudes of investment approaches reflected by the quote of Milton Friedman introducing an alternative view on investment policy.
Summary of Chapters
1 INTRODUCTION: This chapter introduces the context of responsible investing, traces the shift from traditional profit-maximization to ESG-integrated strategies, and outlines the research problem regarding diversification.
2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: This section presents the foundations of Modern Portfolio Theory and establishes the mathematical measures used to evaluate diversification, systematic risk, and factor models.
3 LITERATURE REVIEW OF ESG FUNDS CHARACTERISTICS AND FUNDS DIVER- SICATION: This review covers the history, drivers, and value creation of sustainable investing, while critically assessing previous findings on the impact of ESG screening on portfolio diversification.
4 EMPIRICAL METHODOLOGY AND DATA: This chapter details the data sample of 1,000 mutual funds, the construction of quintile portfolios, and the statistical methods employed, including the formulated research hypotheses.
5 EMPICIAL FINDINGS: This section presents the regression results (CAPM and Fama-French), analyzes the impact of ESG scores on risk metrics, and synthesizes the overall findings regarding diversification effects.
6 DISCUSSION: This chapter contextualizes the empirical results within existing financial literature, discusses the theoretical and practical implications for investment strategy, and suggests directions for future research.
7 CONCLUSION: This final chapter summarizes the thesis, confirms the research hypotheses, and highlights the significance of the findings for institutional and wealth management.
Keywords
ESG Investing, Responsible Mutual Funds, Modern Portfolio Theory, Portfolio Diversification, Idiosyncratic Risk, Systematic Risk, Asset Pricing Models, CAPM, Fama-French Regression, Sustainable Assets, SRI, Value at Risk, Risk-Adjusted Returns, Financial Performance, Investment Management.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research investigates the impact of integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria into mutual fund portfolios, specifically focusing on whether these constraints negatively affect portfolio diversification.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The study covers the evolution of responsible investing, the application of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) to sustainable assets, and empirical performance analysis using risk metrics and regression models.
What is the main objective or research question?
The main objective is to empirically verify whether ESG-screened funds suffer from a "diversification drawback" or if they maintain sufficient diversification compared to conventional mutual funds.
Which scientific methods are applied in this work?
The thesis utilizes a quantitative approach, applying multivariate Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions, the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), and the Fama-French three-factor model on a panel dataset of 1,000 mutual funds.
What is covered in the main body of the thesis?
The main body comprises a theoretical review of portfolio diversification, a literature review on ESG characteristics, a methodological explanation of quintile portfolio construction, and an empirical analysis of risk and return patterns.
Which keywords best characterize the study?
Key terms include ESG investing, portfolio diversification, idiosyncratic risk, Modern Portfolio Theory, mutual funds, and risk-adjusted performance.
Does the thesis support the idea that ESG funds underperform?
The empirical results indicate that hybrid portfolios and certain ESG-focused portfolios (specifically Q3 and ESG PF) show competitive abnormal returns and evidence of improved diversification compared to conventional peers.
What specific role does the "quintile-based" approach play in the analysis?
The quintile-based approach organizes funds into five distinct groups based on their ESG scores, allowing for a comparative analysis between "high-ESG" and "low-ESG" portfolios to test for significant differences in diversification and risk metrics.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Moritz Ernst (Autor:in), 2020, ESG Funds. Diversification of Responsible Mutual Funds, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1334419
