IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i12p3304-d240091.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Responsible or Thematic? The True Nature of Sustainability-Themed Mutual Funds

Author

Listed:
  • Federica Ielasi

    (Department of Economics and Management, University of Florence, 50127 Florence, Italy)

  • Monica Rossolini

    (Department of Business and Law, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy)

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to compare the risk-adjusted performance of sustainability-themed funds with other categories of mutual funds: sustainable and responsible mutual funds that implement different approaches in portfolio selection and management, and thematic funds not committed to responsible investments. The study analyses a sample of about 1000 European mutual open-end funds where 302 are sustainability-themed funds, 358 are other responsible funds, and 341 other thematic funds. Risk-adjusted performance is analyzed for the period 2007–2017 using different methodologies: a single factor Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), a Fama and French (1993) 3-factor model, and a Fama and French (2015) 5-factor model. Our main findings demonstrate that the risk-adjusted performance of ST funds is more closely related to their responsible nature than to their thematic approach. Sustainability-themed mutual funds are more similar to other socially responsible funds than to other thematic funds, as confirmed by performance analysis over time. They are also better than other thematic funds in overcoming financially turbulent periods and currently benefit from SRI regulation and disclosure.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:12:p:3304-:d:240091
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/12/3304/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/12/3304/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 2007. "Disagreement, tastes, and asset prices," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(3), pages 667-689, March.
    2. 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.
    3. Mackenzie, Craig & Lewis, Alan, 1999. "Morals and Markets: The Case of Ethical Investing," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(3), pages 439-452, July.
    4. Becchetti, Leonardo & Ciciretti, Rocco & Hasan, Iftekhar, 2015. "Corporate social responsibility, stakeholder risk, and idiosyncratic volatility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 297-309.
    5. 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.
    6. N. Kreander & R.H. Gray & D.M. Power & C.D. Sinclair, 2005. "Evaluating the Performance of Ethical and Non‐ethical Funds: A Matched Pair Analysis," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7‐8), pages 1465-1493, September.
    7. 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.
    8. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 2017. "International tests of a five-factor asset pricing model," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(3), pages 441-463.
    9. Hudson, Richard, 2005. "Ethical Investing: Ethical Investors and Managers," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(4), pages 641-657, October.
    10. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 2015. "A five-factor asset pricing model," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(1), pages 1-22.
    11. Kim, Yongtae & Li, Haidan & Li, Siqi, 2014. "Corporate social responsibility and stock price crash risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1-13.
    12. Justyna Przychodzen & Fernando Gómez-Bezares & Wojciech Przychodzen & Mikel Larreina, 2016. "ESG Issues among Fund Managers—Factors and Motives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-19, October.
    13. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    14. Nofsinger, John & Varma, Abhishek, 2014. "Socially responsible funds and market crises," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 180-193.
    15. Praveen K. Das & S.P. Uma Rao, 2014. "Performance persistence in socially responsible mutual funds," International Journal of Economics and Business Research, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(4), pages 490-503.
    16. 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.
    17. Gunther Capelle-Blancard & Stéphanie Monjon, 2011. "The Performance of Socially Responsible Funds: Does the Screening Process Matter?," Working Papers 2011-12, CEPII research center.
    18. Marta Alvarez & Javier Rodríguez, 2015. "Water-related mutual funds: investment performance and social role," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(3), pages 502-512, August.
    19. 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.
    20. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7347 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Merton, Robert C, 1987. "A Simple Model of Capital Market Equilibrium with Incomplete Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(3), pages 483-510, July.
    22. Jonas Nilsson, 2008. "Investment with a Conscience: Examining the Impact of Pro-Social Attitudes and Perceived Financial Performance on Socially Responsible Investment Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(2), pages 307-325, December.
    23. N. Kreander & R.H. Gray & D.M. Power & C.D. Sinclair, 2005. "Evaluating the Performance of Ethical and Non-ethical Funds: A Matched Pair Analysis," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7-8), pages 1465-1493.
    24. 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.
    25. Karl V. Lins & Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2017. "Social Capital, Trust, and Firm Performance: The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility during the Financial Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1785-1824, August.
    26. Carhart, Mark M, 1997. "On Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 57-82, March.
    27. Karen Paul, 2017. "The effect of business cycle, market return and momentum on financial performance of socially responsible investing mutual funds," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(3), pages 513-528, August.
    28. Humphrey, Jacquelyn E. & Lee, Darren D. & Shen, Yaokan, 2012. "Does it cost to be sustainable?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 626-639.
    29. William Martin, 2009. "Socially Responsible Investing: Is Your Fiduciary Duty at Risk?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(4), pages 549-560, December.
    30. Renneboog, Luc & Ter Horst, Jenke & Zhang, Chendi, 2008. "The price of ethics and stakeholder governance: The performance of socially responsible mutual funds," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 302-322, June.
    31. El Ghoul, Sadok & Karoui, Aymen, 2017. "Does corporate social responsibility affect mutual fund performance and flows?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 53-63.
    32. Luo, H. Arthur & Balvers, Ronald J., 2017. "Social Screens and Systematic Investor Boycott Risk," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(1), pages 365-399, February.
    33. Pastor, Lubos & Stambaugh, Robert F., 2003. "Liquidity Risk and Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(3), pages 642-685, June.
    34. Galema, Rients & Plantinga, Auke & Scholtens, Bert, 2008. "The stocks at stake: Return and risk in socially responsible investment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 2646-2654, December.
    35. Bauer, Rob & Smeets, Paul, 2015. "Social identification and investment decisions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 121-134.
    36. 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.
    37. Marien de Haan & Lammertjan Dam & Bert Scholtens, 2012. "The drivers of the relationship between corporate environmental performance and stock market returns," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(3-4), pages 338-375, October.
    38. Tim Verheyden & Robert G. Eccles & Andreas Feiner, 2016. "ESG for All? The Impact of ESG Screening on Return, Risk, and Diversification," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 28(2), pages 47-55, June.
    39. 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.
    40. Pieter Jan Trinks & Bert Scholtens, 2017. "The Opportunity Cost of Negative Screening in Socially Responsible Investing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 193-208, January.
    41. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1996. "Multifactor Explanations of Asset Pricing Anomalies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(1), pages 55-84, March.
    42. Krishna Udayasankar, 2008. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Size," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(2), pages 167-175, December.
    43. Rob Bauer & Jeroen Derwall & Rogér Otten, 2007. "The Ethical Mutual Fund Performance Debate: New Evidence from Canada," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 70(2), pages 111-124, January.
    44. 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.
    45. 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.
    46. Alan Gregory & John Matatko & Robert Luther, 1997. "Ethical Unit Trust Financial Performance: Small Company Effects and Fund Size Effects," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(5), pages 705-725.
    47. Zakri Y. Bello, 2005. "Socially Responsible Investing And Portfolio Diversification," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 28(1), pages 41-57, March.
    48. Alan Gregory & John Matatko & Robert Luther, 1997. "Ethical Unit Trust Financial Performance: Small Company Effects and Fund Size Effects," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(5), pages 705-725, June.
    49. Ioannis Oikonomou & Chris Brooks & Stephen Pavelin, 2014. "The Effects of Corporate Social Performance on the Cost of Corporate Debt and Credit Ratings," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 49(1), pages 49-75, February.
    50. 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.
    51. Ick Jin, 2018. "Is ESG a systematic risk factor for US equity mutual funds?," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 72-93, January.
    52. Laura Fabregat-Aibar & M. Glòria Barberà-Mariné & Antonio Terceño & Laia Pié, 2019. "A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis of Socially Responsible Funds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, May.
    53. 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.
    54. 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).
    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. Xiao-Guang Yue & Yan Han & Deimante Teresiene & Justina Merkyte & Wei Liu, 2020. "Sustainable Funds’ Performance Evaluation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-20, September.
    2. Carmen-Pilar Martí-Ballester, 2020. "Financial Performance of SDG Mutual Funds Focused on Biotechnology and Healthcare Sectors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-15, March.
    3. Bogna Janik & Katarzyna Maruszewska, 2020. "Valuation of the Environmental Effects of Socially Responsible Investments in Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-18, November.
    4. Guido Abate & Ignazio Basile & Pierpaolo Ferrari, 2021. "The level of sustainability and mutual fund performance in Europe: An empirical analysis using ESG ratings," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1446-1455, September.
    5. Federica Ielasi & Paolo Ceccherini & Pietro Zito, 2020. "Integrating ESG Analysis into Smart Beta Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-22, November.
    6. Carmen‐Pilar Martí‐Ballester, 2023. "Mutual funds and gender equality in portfolio firms: Toward the sustainable development goals," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 905-926, March.
    7. Martí-Ballester, Carmen-Pilar, 2022. "Do renewable energy mutual funds advance towards clean energy-related sustainable development goals?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 1155-1164.
    8. Aysenur Tarakcioglu Altinay & Mesut Dogan & Bilge Leyli Demirel Ergun & Sevdie Alshiqi, 2023. "The Fama-French Five-Factor Asset Pricing Model: A Research on Borsa Istanbul," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 4, pages 3-21.
    9. Kumar Manaswi & Archana Singh & Vikas Gupta, 2023. "Building a Better Future with Sustainable Investments: Insights from Recent Research," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 17(2), pages 320-343, August.
    10. Łukasz Dopierała & Magdalena Mosionek-Schweda & Daria Ilczuk, 2020. "Does the Asset Allocation Policy Affect the Performance of Climate-Themed Funds? Empirical Evidence from the Scandinavian Mutual Funds Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-23, January.
    11. Nicolás Magner & Jaime F. Lavín & Mauricio A. Valle, 2022. "Modeling Synchronization Risk among Sustainable Exchange Trade Funds: A Statistical and Network Analysis Approach," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(19), pages 1-30, October.
    12. Gbenga Ibikunle & Carmen‐Pilar Martí‐Ballester, 2022. "Can water mutual funds aid sustainable development?," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 1173-1190, January.

    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. Federica Ielasi & Paolo Ceccherini & Pietro Zito, 2020. "Integrating ESG Analysis into Smart Beta Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-22, November.
    2. Laura Fabregat-Aibar & M. Glòria Barberà-Mariné & Antonio Terceño & Laia Pié, 2019. "A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis of Socially Responsible Funds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, May.
    3. Becchetti, Leonardo & Ciciretti, Rocco & Dalò, Ambrogio, 2018. "Fishing the Corporate Social Responsibility risk factors," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 25-48.
    4. 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.
    5. Lars Hornuf & Gül Yüksel, 2022. "The Performance of Socially Responsible Investments: A Meta-Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 9724, CESifo.
    6. Leite, Paulo & Cortez, Maria Céu, 2014. "Style and performance of international socially responsible funds in Europe," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 248-267.
    7. 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.
    8. Pablo Durán-Santomil & Luis Otero-González & Renato Heitor Correia-Domingues & Juan Carlos Reboredo, 2019. "Does Sustainability Score Impact Mutual Fund Performance?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-17, May.
    9. Ciciretti, Rocco & Dalò, Ambrogio & Dam, Lammertjan, 2023. "The contributions of betas versus characteristics to the ESG premium," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 104-124.
    10. Paolo Capelli & Federica Ielasi & Angeloantonio Russo, 2021. "Forecasting volatility by integrating financial risk with environmental, social, and governance risk," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1483-1495, September.
    11. 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).
    12. Ghoul, Sadok El & Karoui, Aymen, 2022. "Fund performance and social responsibility: New evidence using social active share and social tracking error," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. Sebastian Rathner, 2013. "The Influence of Primary Study Characteristics on the Performance Differential Between Socially Responsible and Conventional Investment Funds: A Meta-Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 349-363, December.
    16. Leite, Paulo & Cortez, Maria Céu, 2015. "Performance of European socially responsible funds during market crises: Evidence from France," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 132-141.
    17. Derwall, Jeroen & Koedijk, Kees & Ter Horst, Jenke, 2011. "A tale of values-driven and profit-seeking social investors," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 2137-2147, August.
    18. Vincenzo D'Apice & Giovanni Ferri & Mariantonietta Intonti, 2021. "Sustainable disclosure versus ESG intensity: Is there a cross effect between holding and SRI funds?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1496-1510, September.
    19. Jonathan Peillex & Sabri Boubaker & Breeda Comyns, 2021. "Does It Pay to Invest in Japanese Women? Evidence from the MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(3), pages 595-613, May.
    20. 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".

    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:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:12:p:3304-:d:240091. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.