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Selecting Socially Responsible Portfolios: A Fuzzy Multicriteria Approach

Author

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  • Fernando García

    (Faculty of Business Administration and Management, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 València, Spain)

  • Jairo González-Bueno

    (Faculty of Business Administration, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, 681017 Bucaramanga, Colombia)

  • Javier Oliver

    (Faculty of Business Administration and Management, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 València, Spain)

  • Nicola Riley

    (Markstones Institute of Marketing, Branding and Technology, Universität Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany)

Abstract

We propose a multi-objective approach for portfolio selection, which allows investors to consider not only return and downside risk criteria but also to include environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores in the investment decision-making process. Owing to the uncertain environment of portfolio selection, the return and ESG score of each asset are considered as independent L-R power fuzzy variables. To make the model more realistic, we take budget, floor ceiling and cardinality constraints into account. In order to select the optimal portfolio along the efficient frontier, we apply the Sortino ratio in a credibilistic environment. The subsequent empirical application uses a data set from Bloomberg’s ESG Data in combination with US Dow Jones Industrial Average data. The experimental results show that the proposed model offers promising results for socially responsible investors seeking ethical and sustainability goals beyond the return-risk trade-off and its ability to beat the benchmark.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernando García & Jairo González-Bueno & Javier Oliver & Nicola Riley, 2019. "Selecting Socially Responsible Portfolios: A Fuzzy Multicriteria Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-14, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:9:p:2496-:d:226775
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    3. Yin-Yin Huang & Ruey-Chyn Tsaur & Nei-Chin Huang, 2022. "Sustainable Fuzzy Portfolio Selection Concerning Multi-Objective Risk Attitudes in Group Decision," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(18), pages 1-15, September.
    4. Guido Abate & Ignazio Basile & Pierpaolo Ferrari, 2024. "The integration of environmental, social and governance criteria in portfolio optimization: An empirical analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 2054-2065, May.
    5. Fernando García & Jairo González-Bueno & Francisco Guijarro & Javier Oliver, 2020. "A multiobjective credibilistic portfolio selection model. Empirical study in the Latin American integrated market," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 8(2), pages 1027-1046, December.
    6. Silvia Ruiz-Blanco & Silvia Romero & Belen Fernandez-Feijoo, 2022. "Green, blue or black, but washing–What company characteristics determine greenwashing?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 4024-4045, March.
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    8. Panos Xidonas & Eric Essner, 2024. "On ESG Portfolio Construction: A Multi-Objective Optimization Approach," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 63(1), pages 21-45, January.
    9. Renu Jonwall & Seema Gupta & Shuchi Pahuja, 2024. "Do socially responsible indices outperform conventional indices? Evidence from before and after the onset of Covid‐19," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4995-5011, September.
    10. Fernando Gómez-Bezares & Wojciech Przychodzen & Justyna Przychodzen, 2019. "Corporate Sustainability and CEO–Employee Pay Gap—Buster or Booster?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-15, October.
    11. Yin-Yin Huang & I-Fei Chen & Chien-Liang Chiu & Ruey-Chyn Tsaur, 2021. "Adjustable Security Proportions in the Fuzzy Portfolio Selection under Guaranteed Return Rates," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(23), pages 1-18, November.
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