IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jrefec/v68y2024i2d10.1007_s11146-022-09914-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainability and Private Equity Real Estate Returns

Author

Listed:
  • Avis Devine

    (York University)

  • Andrew Sanderford

    (University of Virginia)

  • Chongyu Wang

    (University of Hong Kong)

Abstract

This paper explores private equity real estate fund performance and voluntary environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures. Using data from the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF), it examines the relationship between performance for funds in the Open Ended Diversified Core Equity (ODCE) Index and reporting to the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), a platform for disclosure about fund/firm-level ESG strategies and performance. The empirical analyses suggest four conclusions. First, there has been substantial adoption of and reporting to GRESB in the last 5 years, suggesting that reporting to GRESB is a form of table stakes for ODCE members. Second, GRESB participation and performance are both significant predictors of cross-sectional fund returns. Third, GRESB participation and performance are associated with the price appreciation component of fund total returns but not with the income component. Fourth, the relationships between fund returns and GRESB participation and scores are independent of local economic conditions. These results close an important gap in the literature about private equity real estate fund performance and ESG/climate change mitigation efforts in commercial real estate markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Avis Devine & Andrew Sanderford & Chongyu Wang, 2024. "Sustainability and Private Equity Real Estate Returns," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 68(2), pages 161-187, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jrefec:v:68:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s11146-022-09914-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11146-022-09914-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11146-022-09914-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11146-022-09914-z?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. Morten Bennedsen & Elena Simintzi & Margarita Tsoutsoura & Daniel Wolfenzon, 2022. "Do Firms Respond to Gender Pay Gap Transparency?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(4), pages 2051-2091, August.
    2. Guanhao Feng & Stefano Giglio & Dacheng Xiu, 2020. "Taming the Factor Zoo: A Test of New Factors," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 75(3), pages 1327-1370, June.
    3. Cannon, Susanne & Col, Rebel A., 2011. "How accurate are commercial-real-estate appraisals? evidence from 25 years of NCREIF sales data," MPRA Paper 32589, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Andonov, Aleksandar & Eichholtz, Piet & Kok, Nils, 2015. "Intermediated investment management in private markets: Evidence from pension fund investments in real estate," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 73-103.
    5. Franz Fuerst & Patrick McAllister, 2011. "Green Noise or Green Value? Measuring the Effects of Environmental Certification on Office Values," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 39(1), pages 45-69, March.
    6. Steven N. Kaplan & Antoinette Schoar, 2005. "Private Equity Performance: Returns, Persistence, and Capital Flows," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(4), pages 1791-1823, August.
    7. Amine Ouazad & Matthew E Kahn, 2022. "Mortgage Finance and Climate Change: Securitization Dynamics in the Aftermath of Natural Disasters," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 35(8), pages 3617-3665.
    8. Robert F Engle & Stefano Giglio & Bryan Kelly & Heebum Lee & Johannes Stroebel, 2020. "Hedging Climate Change News," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1184-1216.
    9. Matthieu Bouvard & Pierre Chaigneau & Adolfo De Motta, 2015. "Transparency in the Financial System: Rollover Risk and Crises," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(4), pages 1805-1837, August.
    10. David C. Ling & Andy Naranjo & Benjamin Scheick, 2018. "Geographic Portfolio Allocations, Property Selection and Performance Attribution in Public and Private Real Estate Markets," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 46(2), pages 404-448, June.
    11. Joseph L. Pagliari & Kevin A. Scherer & Richard T. Monopoli, 2005. "Public Versus Private Real Estate Equities: A More Refined, Long-Term Comparison," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 33(1), pages 147-187, March.
    12. Jawad M Addoum & David T Ng & Ariel Ortiz-Bobea & Harrison Hong, 2020. "Temperature Shocks and Establishment Sales," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1331-1366.
    13. Shashwat Alok & Nitin Kumar & Russ Wermers & Harrison Hong, 2020. "Do Fund Managers Misestimate Climatic Disaster Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1146-1183.
    14. Rogier Holtermans & Nils Kok, 2019. "On the Value of Environmental Certification in the Commercial Real Estate Market," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 47(3), pages 685-722, September.
    15. R. David Mclean & Jeffrey Pontiff, 2016. "Does Academic Research Destroy Stock Return Predictability?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 71(1), pages 5-32, February.
    16. H. Damon Matthews & Nathan P. Gillett & Peter A. Stott & Kirsten Zickfeld, 2009. "The proportionality of global warming to cumulative carbon emissions," Nature, Nature, vol. 459(7248), pages 829-832, June.
    17. Susanne, Cannon & Rebel, Cole, 2011. "How Accurate Are Commercial Real Estate Appraisals? Evidence from 25 Years of NCREIF Sales Data," MPRA Paper 52621, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 25 May 2011.
    18. Qiu, Yueming & Kahn, Matthew E., 2019. "Impact of voluntary green certification on building energy performance," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 461-475.
    19. Farrelly, Kieran & Stevenson, Simon, 2019. "The risk and return of private equity real estate funds," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    20. Kahn Matthew E & Vaughn Ryan K., 2009. "Green Market Geography: The Spatial Clustering of Hybrid Vehicles and LEED Registered Buildings," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 9(2), pages 1-24, March.
    21. Cooper, Ian & Kaplanis, Evi, 1994. "Home Bias in Equity Portfolios, Inflation Hedging, and International Capital Market Equilibrium," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 7(1), pages 45-60.
    22. Nils Kok & Marquise McGraw & John M. Quigley, 2011. "The Diffusion of Energy Efficiency in Building," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 77-82, May.
    23. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1992. "The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(2), pages 427-465, June.
    24. Ling, David C & Naranjo, Andy, 1997. "Economic Risk Factors and Commercial Real Estate Returns," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 283-307, May.
    25. Gary Pivo & Jeffrey D. Fisher, 2011. "The Walkability Premium in Commercial Real Estate Investments," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 39(2), pages 185-219, June.
    26. Shaun Bond & Avis Devine, 2016. "Certification Matters: Is Green Talk Cheap Talk?," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 117-140, February.
    27. Jeffrey Fisher & Dean Gatzlaff & David Geltner & Donald Haurin, 2004. "An Analysis of the Determinants of Transaction Frequency of Institutional Commercial Real Estate Investment Property," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 32(2), pages 239-264, June.
    28. Piet Eichholtz & Nils Kok & John M. Quigley, 2010. "Doing Well by Doing Good? Green Office Buildings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2492-2509, December.
    29. James D. Shilling & Charles H. Wurtzebach, 2012. "Is Value-Added and Opportunisitc Real Estate Investing Beneficial? If So, Why?," Journal of Real Estate Research, American Real Estate Society, vol. 34(4), pages 429-462.
    30. Clayton, Jim & Devine, Avis & Holtermans, Rogier, 2021. "Beyond building certification: The impact of environmental interventions on commercial real estate operations," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    31. Allen, Marcus T & Madura, Jeff & Springer, Thomas M, 2000. "REIT Characteristics and the Sensitivity of REIT Returns," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 141-152, September.
    32. Timothy J. Riddiough & Mark Moriarty & P.J. Yeatman, 2005. "Privately Versus Publicly Held Asset Investment Performance," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 33(1), pages 121-146, March.
    33. Robert S. Harris & Tim Jenkinson & Steven N. Kaplan, 2014. "Private Equity Performance: What Do We Know?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(5), pages 1851-1882, October.
    34. Markus Baldauf & Lorenzo Garlappi & Constantine Yannelis & José Scheinkman, 2020. "Does Climate Change Affect Real Estate Prices? Only If You Believe In It," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1256-1295.
    35. Anas, Alex, 1990. "Taste heterogeneity and urban spatial structure: The logit model and monocentric theory reconciled," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 318-335, November.
    36. David C. Ling & Andy Naranjo & Benjamin Scheick, 2014. "Investor Sentiment, Limits to Arbitrage and Private Market Returns," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 42(3), pages 531-577, September.
    37. Eichholtz, Piet & Kok, Nils & Yonder, Erkan, 2012. "Portfolio greenness and the financial performance of REITs," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1911-1929.
    38. Philipp Krueger & Zacharias Sautner & Laura T Starks, 2020. "The Importance of Climate Risks for Institutional Investors," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1067-1111.
    39. Stefano Giglio & Dacheng Xiu, 2021. "Asset Pricing with Omitted Factors," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(7), pages 1947-1990.
    40. Xudong An & Gary Pivo, 2020. "Green Buildings in Commercial Mortgage‐Backed Securities: The Effects of LEED and Energy Star Certification on Default Risk and Loan Terms," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 48(1), pages 7-42, March.
    41. Michael Barnett & William Brock & Lars Peter Hansen & Harrison Hong, 2020. "Pricing Uncertainty Induced by Climate Change," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1024-1066.
    42. Justin Murfin & Matthew Spiegel & Jose Scheinkman, 2020. "Is the Risk of Sea Level Rise Capitalized in Residential Real Estate?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1217-1255.
    43. Kieran Farrelly & Simon Stevenson, 2016. "Performance drivers of private real estate funds," Journal of Property Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(3), pages 214-235, July.
    44. Harrison Hong & Neng Wang & Jinqiang Yang, 2021. "Welfare Consequences of Sustainable Finance," NBER Working Papers 28595, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    45. Andra C Ghent & Walter N Torous & Rossen I Valkanov, 2019. "Complexity in Structured Finance," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(2), pages 694-722.
    46. Nikhil Kaza & Roberto Quercia & Robert J. Sahadi, 2014. "Home energy efficiency and mortgage risks: an extended abstract," Community Development Innovation Review, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue 01, pages 063-069.
    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. Venturini, Alessio, 2022. "Climate change, risk factors and stock returns: A review of the literature," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Carè, R. & Weber, O., 2023. "How much finance is in climate finance? A bibliometric review, critiques, and future research directions," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    3. Avis Devine & Erkan Yönder, 2023. "Impact of Environmental Investments on Corporate Financial Performance: Decomposing Valuation and Cash Flow Effects," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 66(4), pages 778-805, May.
    4. Drudi, Francesco & Moench, Emanuel & Holthausen, Cornelia & Weber, Pierre-François & Ferrucci, Gianluigi & Setzer, Ralph & Adao, Bernardino & Dées, Stéphane & Alogoskoufis, Spyros & Téllez, Mar Delgad, 2021. "Climate change and monetary policy in the euro area," Occasional Paper Series 271, European Central Bank.
    5. Braun, Alexander & Braun, Julia & Weigert, Florian, 2023. "Extreme weather risk and the cost of equity," CFR Working Papers 23-08, University of Cologne, Centre for Financial Research (CFR).
    6. Hui-Ching Hsieh & Viona Claresta & Thi Minh Ngoc Bui, 2020. "Green Building, Cost of Equity Capital and Corporate Governance: Evidence from US Real Estate Investment Trusts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-21, May.
    7. Niina Leskinen & Jussi Vimpari & Seppo Junnila, 2020. "A Review of the Impact of Green Building Certification on the Cash Flows and Values of Commercial Properties," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-22, March.
    8. Michael Barnett, 2024. "A Run on Fossil Fuel? Climate Change and Transition Risk," Papers 2410.00902, arXiv.org.
    9. Miriam Breitenstein & Duc Khuong Nguyen & Thomas Walther, 2021. "Environmental Hazards And Risk Management In The Financial Sector: A Systematic Literature Review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 512-538, April.
    10. Patozi, A., 2023. "Green Transmission: Monetary Policy in the Age of ESG," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2311, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    11. Duc Duy Nguyen & Steven Ongena & Shusen Qi & Vathunyoo Sila, 2022. "Climate Change Risk and the Cost of Mortgage Credit [Does climate change affect real estate prices? Only if you believe in it]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(6), pages 1509-1549.
    12. Jiazhan Gao & Guihong Hua & Baofeng Huo, 2024. "Green finance policies, financing constraints and corporate ESG performance: insights from supply chain management," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1345-1359, December.
    13. Monica Billio & Michele Costola & Loriana Pelizzon & Max Riedel, 2022. "Buildings’ Energy Efficiency and the Probability of Mortgage Default: The Dutch Case," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 65(3), pages 419-450, October.
    14. Tristan Jourde & Arthur Stalla-Bourdillon, 2024. "PEnvironmental Preferences and Sector Valuations," Working papers 964, Banque de France.
    15. Roy Kouwenberg & Chenglong Zheng, 2023. "A Review of the Global Climate Finance Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-32, January.
    16. Duan, Tinghua & Li, Frank Weikai, 2024. "Climate change concerns and mortgage lending," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    17. Gong, Xu & Liao, Qin, 2024. "Physical climate risk attention and dynamic volatility connectedness among new energy stocks," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    18. Cepni, Oguzhan & Demirer, Riza & Pham, Linh & Rognone, Lavinia, 2023. "Climate uncertainty and information transmissions across the conventional and ESG assets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    19. Ai, Li & Gao, Lucia S., 2023. "Firm-level risk of climate change: Evidence from climate disasters," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    20. Fuerst, Franz & Gabrieli, Tommaso & McAllister, Patrick, 2017. "A green winner's curse? Investor behavior in the market for eco-certified office buildings," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 137-146.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Private equity; Real estate; ESG; Sustainability; GRESB; Benchmarking;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • R33 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Nonagricultural and Nonresidential Real Estate Markets

    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:kap:jrefec:v:68:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s11146-022-09914-z. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.