IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v62y2024ipas1544612324002095.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

SFDR Article 9: Is it all about impact?

Author

Listed:
  • Scheitza, Lisa
  • Busch, Timo

Abstract

We investigate more than 1,000 investment funds that are classified under Article 9 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). Using the G7’s new typology of sustainable investments, we show that Article 9 funds pursue varying degrees of ambition: while 60 % follow an impact-oriented strategy, we identify 40 % that instead pursue a general Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy. We do not find significant differences in ESG scores between ESG-related and impact-related funds. Yet, impact-related funds have higher SDG impact scores and higher management fees. Downgraded funds that changed SFDR status, however, tend to be less focused on impact.

Suggested Citation

  • Scheitza, Lisa & Busch, Timo, 2024. "SFDR Article 9: Is it all about impact?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:62:y:2024:i:pa:s1544612324002095
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2024.105179
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612324002095
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2024.105179?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. Timo Busch & Peter Bruce-Clark & Jeroen Derwall & Robert Eccles & Tessa Hebb & Andreas Hoepner & Christian Klein & Philipp Krueger & Falko Paetzold & Bert Scholtens & Olaf Weber, 2021. "Impact investments: a call for (re)orientation," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 1-13, February.
    2. Irene Bengo & Leonardo Boni & Alessandro Sancino, 2022. "EU financial regulations and social impact measurement practices: A comprehensive framework on finance for sustainable development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 809-819, July.
    3. Samuel M. Hartzmark & Abigail B. Sussman, 2019. "Do Investors Value Sustainability? A Natural Experiment Examining Ranking and Fund Flows," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 74(6), pages 2789-2837, December.
    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. Becker, Martin G. & Martin, Fabio & Walter, Andreas, 2022. "The power of ESG transparency: The effect of the new SFDR sustainability labels on mutual funds and individual investors," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    6. Badenhoop, Nikolai & Hackmann, Angelina & Mücke, Christian & Pelizzon, Loriana, 2023. "Quo vadis sustainable funds? Sustainability and taxonomy-aligned disclosure in Germany under the SFDR," SAFE White Paper Series 94, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    7. Florian Heeb & Julian F Kölbel & Falko Paetzold & Stefan Zeisberger, 2023. "Do Investors Care about Impact?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 36(5), pages 1737-1787.
    8. Duncombe, Samuel & Park, Min & Tarsalewska, Monika & Trojanowski, Grzegorz, 2023. "ESG positioning in private infrastructure fundraising," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    9. Florian Berg & Julian F Kölbel & Roberto Rigobon, 2022. "Aggregate Confusion: The Divergence of ESG Ratings [Corporate social responsibility and firm risk: theory and empirical evidence]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(6), pages 1315-1344.
    10. Bernd Scherer & Milot Hasaj, 2023. "Greenlabelling: How valuable is the SFDR Art 9 label?," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(7), pages 541-546, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Elisa Bocchialini & Demetrio Miloslavo Bova & Ilaria Colivicchi & Federica Ielasi, 2024. "Environmental-, Social-, and Governance-Oriented Pension Funds for Young Contributors: A Win–Win Option," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-19, December.
    2. Auzepy, Alix & Bannier, Christina E. & Gärtner, Florian, 2024. "Looking beyond ESG preferences: The role of sustainable finance literacy in sustainable investing," CFS Working Paper Series 719, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    3. Ferriani, Fabrizio, 2023. "Issuing bonds during the Covid-19 pandemic: Was there an ESG premium?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    4. Giglio, Stefano & Maggiori, Matteo & Ströbel, Johannes & Tan, Zhenhao & Utkus, Stephen & Xu, Xiao, 2023. "Four Facts about ESG Beliefs and Investor Portfolios," CEPR Discussion Papers 18052, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Montagnoli, Alberto & Taylor, Karl, 2024. "Who Cares about Investing Responsibly? Attitudes and Financial Decisions," IZA Discussion Papers 16952, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Shira Cohen & Igor Kadach & Gaizka Ormazabal & Stefan Reichelstein, 2023. "Executive Compensation Tied to ESG Performance: International Evidence," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 805-853, June.
    7. Nadine Gatzert & Anna Kraus, 2024. "Do sustainability attributes play a role for individuals’ decisions regarding unit-linked life insurance? A survey research on German private investors," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 49(4), pages 719-746, October.
    8. Lestari, Jenjang Sri & Frömmel, Michael, 2024. "Socially responsible investments: doing good while doing well in developed versus emerging markets?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    9. Zehua He & Kexin Hu & Zhongfei Li, 2023. "Drifting from the Sustainable Development Goal: Style Drift in ESG Funds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-24, August.
    10. Seifert, Marcel & Spitzer, Florian & Haeckl, Simone & Gaudeul, Alexia & Kirchler, Erich & Palan, Stefan & Gangl, Katharina, 2024. "Can information provision and preference elicitation promote ESG investments? Evidence from a large, incentivized online experiment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    11. Simona Cosma & Paolo Cucurachi & Vincenzo Gentile & Giuseppe Rimo, 2024. "Sustainable finance disclosure regulation insights: Unveiling socially responsible funds performance during COVID‐19 pandemic and Russia–Ukraine war," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3242-3257, May.
    12. Davidson Heath & Daniele Macciocchi & Roni Michaely & Matthew C. Ringgenberg, 2023. "Does Socially Responsible Investing Change Firm Behavior?," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 27(6), pages 2057-2083.
    13. Degryse, Hans & Goncharenko, Roman & Theunisz, Carola & Vadasz, Tamas, 2023. "When green meets green," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    14. Misev, Marina A. & Balles, Patrick, 2024. "Natural Disasters, Investor Attention, and Non-Fundamental Green Asset Demand," Working papers 2024/07, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    15. Filippini, Massimo & Leippold, Markus & Wekhof, Tobias, 2024. "Sustainable finance literacy and the determinants of sustainable investing," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    16. Richard Bofinger & Simon Cornée & Ariane Szafarz, 2024. "When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do: Disclosure Regulation and ESG Fund Management by Social and Conventional Banks," Working Papers CEB 24-003, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    17. Hervé, Fabrice & Marsat, Sylvain, 2024. "Acting for good, being good or feeling good? Exploring factors influencing individual investors’ willingness to invest in green funds," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 67(PA).
    18. Benuzzi, Matteo & Klaser, Klaudijo & Bax, Karoline, 2024. "Which ESG+F dimension matters most to retail investors? An experimental study on financial decisions and future generations," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    19. Florian Heeb & Julian F Kölbel & Falko Paetzold & Stefan Zeisberger, 2023. "Do Investors Care about Impact?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 36(5), pages 1737-1787.
    20. Victoria Gevorkova & Ivan Sangiorgi & Julia Vogt, 2024. "Cleansing Investor’s Conscience: The Effects of Incidental Guilt on Socially Responsible Investment Decisions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 193(1), pages 89-114, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    SFDR; ESG investing; Impact investing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:finlet:v:62:y:2024:i:pa:s1544612324002095. 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/frl .

    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.