IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/mrrpps/v35y2012i8p693-708.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do green mutual funds perform well?

Author

Listed:
  • C. Edward Chang
  • Walt A. Nelson
  • H. Doug Witte

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to compare the financial performance of green and traditional mutual funds in the USA. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 131 green mutual funds identified by US SIF, were compared with the averages of all traditional mutual funds in their respective Morningstar categories. Performance measures analyzed included annualized rates of return, expense ratios, and Sharpe ratios, among others. Most data pertained to at least the past three years, while other data pertained to the most recent 5 to 15 years. Findings - The results demonstrate that green mutual funds have generated lower returns and similar risks compared to traditional mutual funds in their respective Morningstar categories. Green mutual funds have underperformed on a risk‐adjusted basis. Research limitations/implications - Since there is no formal definition of a green mutual fund, the researcher and investor must make a subjective call in assessing which funds invest “green”. However, at least in this early stage in the history of green investing, green mutual funds have underperformed their peers. Originality/value - Results confirm the limitations of green investing as suggested by various researchers, among them Sharpe, Rudd and Kurtz and DiBartolomeo. Results stand in contrast to Corson and Van Dyck and Statman, among others, which reported no significant underperformance for socially responsible investments.

Suggested Citation

  • C. Edward Chang & Walt A. Nelson & H. Doug Witte, 2012. "Do green mutual funds perform well?," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(8), pages 693-708, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:mrrpps:v:35:y:2012:i:8:p:693-708
    DOI: 10.1108/01409171211247695
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/01409171211247695/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/01409171211247695/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/01409171211247695?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.

    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:eme:mrrpps:v:35:y:2012:i:8:p:693-708. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.