IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finana/v75y2021ics1057521921000831.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Carbon-intensive industries in Socially Responsible mutual funds' portfolios

Author

Listed:
  • Muñoz, Fernando

Abstract

In this research, I study the exposure of Socially Responsible mutual funds (SR) to black industries (i.e., carbon-intensive sectors: fossil fuel, metal and utilities) and its effect on the financial performance. To this purpose, I analyze the industry portfolio allocation of a sample of 136 actively-managed US SR mutual funds, investing in domestic and global equity, in the period January 2012–December 2018. I observe that the average weight of black industries in these portfolios is 9.51% falling over time (13.45% in 2012 versus 7.40% in 2018). Another finding is that a greater exposure to fossil fuel and metal industries negatively impacts the portfolios' financial performance. In addition, SR funds managed by firms located in Republican-leaning states and in states with greater CO2 emissions per capita, are more exposed to carbon-intensive industries, suggesting that SR funds' managers could be influenced by local factors when making their investment decisions. Finally, I observe that SR funds marketed under “low-carbon” labels live up to their name and are less exposed to fossil fuel and metal industries than other types of SR funds.

Suggested Citation

  • Muñoz, Fernando, 2021. "Carbon-intensive industries in Socially Responsible mutual funds' portfolios," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:75:y:2021:i:c:s1057521921000831
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2021.101740
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057521921000831
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.irfa.2021.101740?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Feng, Xunan & Zhou, Mingshan & Chan, Kam C., 2014. "Smart money or dumb money? A study on the selection ability of mutual fund investors in China," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 154-170.
    2. In, Francis & Kim, Martin & Park, Raphael Jonghyeon & Kim, Sangbae & Kim, Tong Suk, 2014. "Competition of socially responsible and conventional mutual funds and its impact on fund performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 160-176.
    3. Michael I. Cragg & Yuyu Zhou & Kevin Gurney & Matthew E. Kahn, 2013. "Carbon Geography: The Political Economy Of Congressional Support For Legislation Intended To Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Production," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(2), pages 1640-1650, April.
    4. Arno Riedl & Paul Smeets, 2017. "Why Do Investors Hold Socially Responsible Mutual Funds?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(6), pages 2505-2550, December.
    5. Managi, Shunsuke & Okimoto, Tatsuyoshi & Matsuda, Akimi, 2012. "Do Socially Responsible Investment Indexes Outperform Conventional Indexes?," MPRA Paper 36662, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Gunther Capelle-Blancard & Stéphanie Monjon, 2011. "The Performance of Socially Responsible Funds: Does the Screening Process Matter?," Working Papers 2011-12, CEPII research center.
    7. Hong, Harrison & Kostovetsky, Leonard, 2012. "Red and blue investing: Values and finance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(1), pages 1-19.
    8. Renneboog, Luc & Ter Horst, Jenke & Zhang, Chendi, 2011. "Is ethical money financially smart? Nonfinancial attributes and money flows of socially responsible investment funds," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 562-588, October.
    9. Borgers, Arian & Derwall, Jeroen & Koedijk, Kees & ter Horst, Jenke, 2015. "Do social factors influence investment behavior and performance? Evidence from mutual fund holdings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 112-126.
    10. Brett Christophers, 2019. "Environmental Beta or How Institutional Investors Think about Climate Change and Fossil Fuel Risk," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 109(3), pages 754-774, May.
    11. Sanjeev Bhojraj & Young Jun Cho & Nir Yehuda, 2012. "Mutual Fund Family Size and Mutual Fund Performance: The Role of Regulatory Changes," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 647-684, June.
    12. Bollen, Nicolas P. B., 2007. "Mutual Fund Attributes and Investor Behavior," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(3), pages 683-708, September.
    13. Renneboog, Luc & Ter Horst, Jenke & Zhang, Chendi, 2008. "Socially responsible investments: Institutional aspects, performance, and investor behavior," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1723-1742, September.
    14. Aneel Keswani & David Stolin, 2008. "Which Money Is Smart? Mutual Fund Buys and Sells of Individual and Institutional Investors," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(1), pages 85-118, February.
    15. Boermans, Martijn A. & Galema, Rients, 2019. "Are pension funds actively decarbonizing their portfolios?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 50-60.
    16. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 2015. "A five-factor asset pricing model," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(1), pages 1-22.
    17. Lukas Benz & Andrea Jacob & Stefan Paulus & Marco Wilkens, 2020. "Herds on green meadows: the decarbonization of institutional portfolios," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(1), pages 13-31, February.
    18. Bauer, Rob & Koedijk, Kees & Otten, Roger, 2005. "International evidence on ethical mutual fund performance and investment style," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(7), pages 1751-1767, July.
    19. Miguel A. Ferreira & Aneel Keswani & António F. Miguel & Sofia B. Ramos, 2013. "The Determinants of Mutual Fund Performance: A Cross-Country Study," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 17(2), pages 483-525.
    20. James, Christopher & Karceski, Jason, 2006. "Investor monitoring and differences in mutual fund performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(10), pages 2787-2808, October.
    21. Ortas, Eduardo & Moneva, José M. & Salvador, Manuel, 2012. "Does socially responsible investment equity indexes in emerging markets pay off? Evidence from Brazil," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 581-597.
    22. Tao Shu & Johan Sulaeman & P. Eric Yeung, 2012. "Local Religious Beliefs and Mutual Fund Risk-Taking Behaviors," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(10), pages 1779-1796, October.
    23. Hong, Harrison & Kacperczyk, Marcin, 2009. "The price of sin: The effects of social norms on markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 15-36, July.
    24. José Luis Miralles-Quirós & María Mar Miralles-Quirós & José Manuel Nogueira, 2020. "Sustainable Development Goals and Investment Strategies: The Profitability of Using Five-Factor Fama-French Alphas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-16, February.
    25. Mingyu Fang & Ken Seng Tan & Tony S. Wirjanto, 2019. "Sustainable portfolio management under climate change," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 45-67, January.
    26. Gbenga Ibikunle & Tom Steffen, 2017. "European Green Mutual Fund Performance: A Comparative Analysis with their Conventional and Black Peers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 337-355, October.
    27. Nuttaneeya Torugsa & Wayne O’Donohue & Rob Hecker, 2012. "Capabilities, Proactive CSR and Financial Performance in SMEs: Empirical Evidence from an Australian Manufacturing Industry Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(4), pages 483-500, September.
    28. Viviani, Jean-Laurent & Maurel, Carole, 2019. "Performance of impact investing: A value creation approach," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 31-39.
    29. Nathan Fabian, 2015. "Economics: Support low-carbon investment," Nature, Nature, vol. 519(7541), pages 27-29, March.
    30. Saeidi, Sayedeh Parastoo & Sofian, Saudah & Saeidi, Parvaneh & Saeidi, Sayyedeh Parisa & Saaeidi, Seyyed Alireza, 2015. "How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of competitive advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 341-350.
    31. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7347 is not listed on IDEAS
    32. Oikonomou, Ioannis & Platanakis, Emmanouil & Sutcliffe, Charles, 2018. "Socially responsible investment portfolios: Does the optimization process matter?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 379-401.
    33. Patrícia Pereira & Maria Céu Cortez & Florinda Silva, 2019. "Socially responsible investing and the performance of Eurozone corporate bond portfolios," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1407-1422, November.
    34. Henriques, Irene & Sadorsky, Perry, 2018. "Investor implications of divesting from fossil fuels," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 30-44.
    35. Trinks, Arjan & Scholtens, Bert & Mulder, Machiel & Dam, Lammertjan, 2018. "Fossil Fuel Divestment and Portfolio Performance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 740-748.
    36. Richard B. Evans, 2010. "Mutual Fund Incubation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(4), pages 1581-1611, August.
    37. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:1:p:137-163 is not listed on IDEAS
    38. Fernando Muñoz & Maria Vargas & Isabel Marco, 2014. "Environmental Mutual Funds: Financial Performance and Managerial Abilities," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(4), pages 551-569, November.
    39. Richard B. Evans & Rüdiger Fahlenbrach, 2012. "Institutional Investors and Mutual Fund Governance: Evidence from Retail--Institutional Fund Twins," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(12), pages 3530-3571.
    40. Marcin Kacperczyk & Clemens Sialm & Lu Zheng, 2005. "On the Industry Concentration of Actively Managed Equity Mutual Funds," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(4), pages 1983-2011, August.
    41. Guillermo Badía & Maria C. Cortez & Luis Ferruz, 2020. "Socially responsible investing worldwide: Do markets value corporate social responsibility?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2751-2764, November.
    42. Reboredo, Juan C. & Quintela, Miguel & Otero, Luis A., 2017. "Do investors pay a premium for going green? Evidence from alternative energy mutual funds," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 512-520.
    43. Kempf, Alexander & Osthoff, Peer, 2007. "The effect of socially responsible investing on portfolio performance," CFR Working Papers 06-10, University of Cologne, Centre for Financial Research (CFR).
    44. Koedijk, Kees & ter Horst, Jenke & Borgers, Arian & Derwall, Jeroen, 2015. "Do Social Factors Influence Investment Behaviour and Performance? Evidence from Mutual Fund Holdings," CEPR Discussion Papers 10740, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    45. Javier Gil-Bazo & Pablo Ruiz-Verdú & André Santos, 2010. "The Performance of Socially Responsible Mutual Funds: The Role of Fees and Management Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(2), pages 243-263, June.
    46. Felipe Arias Fogliano de Souza Cunha & Erick Meira de Oliveira & Renato J. Orsato & Marcelo Cabus Klotzle & Fernando Luiz Cyrino Oliveira & Rodrigo Goyannes Gusmão Caiado, 2020. "Can sustainable investments outperform traditional benchmarks? Evidence from global stock markets," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 682-697, February.
    47. Benson, Karen L. & Humphrey, Jacquelyn E., 2008. "Socially responsible investment funds: Investor reaction to current and past returns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1850-1859, September.
    48. Adams, John C. & Nishikawa, Takeshi & Rao, Ramesh P., 2018. "Mutual fund performance, management teams, and boards," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 358-368.
    49. Gunther Capelle†Blancard & Stéphanie Monjon, 2014. "The Performance of Socially Responsible Funds: Does the Screening Process Matter?," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 20(3), pages 494-520, June.
    50. Julie Ayling & Neil Gunningham, 2017. "Non-state governance and climate policy: the fossil fuel divestment movement," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 131-149, February.
    51. Alexander Kempf & Peer Osthoff, 2007. "The Effect of Socially Responsible Investing on Portfolio Performance," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 13(5), pages 908-922, November.
    52. Jean-Laurent Viviani & Carole Maurel, 2019. "Performance of impact investing: A value creation approach," Post-Print hal-01990525, HAL.
    53. Anastasia O'Rourke, 2003. "A new politics of engagement: shareholder activism for corporate social responsibility," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(4), pages 227-239, July.
    54. Francisco Climent & Pilar Soriano, 2011. "Green and Good? The Investment Performance of US Environmental Mutual Funds," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(2), pages 275-287, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Silva, Florinda & Ferreira, André & Cortez, Maria Céu, 2024. "The performance of green bond portfolios under climate uncertainty: A comparative analysis with conventional and black bond portfolios," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PA).
    2. Sankar, Namasi G. & Nag, Suryadeepto & Chakrabarty, Siddhartha P. & Basu, Sankarshan, 2024. "The carbon premium: Correlation or causality? Evidence from S&P 500 companies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Klinkowska, Olga & Zhao, Yuan, 2023. "Fund flows and performance: New evidence from retail and institutional SRI mutual funds," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    2. Luluk Widyawati, 2020. "A systematic literature review of socially responsible investment and environmental social governance metrics," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 619-637, February.
    3. Federica Ielasi & Monica Rossolini, 2019. "Responsible or Thematic? The True Nature of Sustainability-Themed Mutual Funds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-17, June.
    4. Al Ayoubi, Khalil & Enjolras, Geoffroy, 2022. "Does disinvestment from fossil fuels reduce the financial performance of responsible sovereign wealth funds?," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    5. Fernando Muñoz, 2020. "How do the size and independence of the board of trustees affect the financial and sustainable performance of socially responsible mutual funds?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1834-1850, July.
    6. Guillermo Badía & Maria C. Cortez & Luis Ferruz, 2020. "Socially responsible investing worldwide: Do markets value corporate social responsibility?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2751-2764, November.
    7. Dumitrescu, Ariadna & Järvinen, Jesse & Zakriya, Mohammed, 2023. "Hidden Gem or Fool’s Gold: Can passive ESG ETFs outperform the benchmarks?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    8. Muñoz, Fernando, 2016. "Cash flow timing skills of socially responsible mutual fund investors," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 110-124.
    9. Lapanan, Nicha, 2018. "The investment behavior of socially responsible individual investors," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 214-226.
    10. Francisco José López-Arceiz & Ana José Bellostas-Pérezgrueso & José Mariano Moneva, 2018. "Evaluation of the Cultural Environment’s Impact on the Performance of the Socially Responsible Investment Funds," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 259-278, June.
    11. Costanza Torricelli & Beatrice Bertelli, 2022. "ESG screening strategies and portfolio performance: how do they fare in periods of financial distress?," Centro Studi di Banca e Finanza (CEFIN) (Center for Studies in Banking and Finance) 0087, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi".
    12. Beatrice Boumda & Darren Duxbury & Cristina Ortiz & Luis Vicente, 2021. "Do Socially Responsible Investment Funds Sell Losses and Ride Gains? The Disposition Effect in SRI Funds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-14, July.
    13. Xing Chen & Bert Scholtens, 2018. "The urge to act: A comparison of active and passive socially responsible investment funds in the United States," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1154-1173, November.
    14. Gutsche, Gunnar & Ziegler, Andreas, 2019. "Which private investors are willing to pay for sustainable investments? Empirical evidence from stated choice experiments," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 193-214.
    15. Alda, Mercedes & Muñoz, Fernando & Vargas, María, 2022. "Product differentiation in the socially responsible mutual fund industry," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    16. Henke, Hans-Martin, 2016. "The effect of social screening on bond mutual fund performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 69-84.
    17. Cortez, Maria Céu & Andrade, Nuno & Silva, Florinda, 2022. "The environmental and financial performance of green energy investments: European evidence," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    18. José Luis Miralles-Quirós & María Mar Miralles-Quirós & José Manuel Nogueira, 2020. "Sustainable Development Goals and Investment Strategies: The Profitability of Using Five-Factor Fama-French Alphas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-16, February.
    19. Pástor, Ľuboš & Stambaugh, Robert F. & Taylor, Lucian A., 2021. "Sustainable investing in equilibrium," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 550-571.
    20. Gunther Capelle†Blancard & Stéphanie Monjon, 2014. "The Performance of Socially Responsible Funds: Does the Screening Process Matter?," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 20(3), pages 494-520, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:75:y:2021:i:c:s1057521921000831. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620166 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.