IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/revfec/v6y1997i2p137-149.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of social‐responsibility screens on investment performance: Evidence from the Domini 400 social index and Domini Equity Mutual Fund

Author

Listed:
  • David A. Sauer

Abstract

Socially responsible investors apply both financial and social criteria when evaluating investments in order to ensure that the securities selected are consistent with their personal value system and beliefs. This paper examines the potential impact these additional restrictions have on investment performance by comparing the performance characteristics of a carefully constructed, well diversified portfolio of socially screened stocks with two unrestricted benchmark portfolios. In contrast to prior research, the performance of the socially responsible portfolio examined in this paper is not subject to the confounding effects of trans‐ action costs, management fees, or differences in investment policy that are associated with actively managed mutual funds. Therefore, it is possible to more clearly isolate the potential performance implications associated with subjecting the investment opportunity set to social screening. Contrary to expectations, our findings indicate that application of social‐responsibility screens does not necessarily have an adverse impact on investment performance.

Suggested Citation

  • David A. Sauer, 1997. "The impact of social‐responsibility screens on investment performance: Evidence from the Domini 400 social index and Domini Equity Mutual Fund," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 6(2), pages 137-149.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:revfec:v:6:y:1997:i:2:p:137-149
    DOI: 10.1016/S1058-3300(97)90002-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1058-3300(97)90002-1
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/S1058-3300(97)90002-1?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael C. Jensen, 1968. "The Performance Of Mutual Funds In The Period 1945–1964," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 23(2), pages 389-416, May.
    2. Herremans, Irene M. & Akathaporn, Parporn & McInnes, Morris, 1993. "An investigation of corporate social responsibility reputation and economic performance," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 18(7-8), pages 587-604.
    3. Jobson, J D & Korkie, Bob M, 1981. "Performance Hypothesis Testing with the Sharpe and Treynor Measures," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 36(4), pages 889-908, September.
    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. Halil Kiymaz, 2019. "Performance Evaluation of SRI Funds: An Analysis of Fund Types," Accounting and Finance Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 8(1), pages 212-212, February.
    2. Raghunandan, Aneesh & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2022. "Do ESG funds make stakeholder-friendly investments?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115234, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Aneesh Raghunandan & Shiva Rajgopal, 2022. "Do ESG funds make stakeholder-friendly investments?," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 822-863, September.
    4. Brzeszczyński, Janusz & Gajdka, Jerzy & Pietraszewski, Piotr & Schabek, Tomasz, 2022. "Has the risk of socially responsible investments (SRI) companies stocks changed in the COVID-19 period? International evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    5. Ghaemi Asl, Mahdi & Rashidi, Muhammad Mahdi & Tavakkoli, Hamid Raza & Rezgui, Hichem, 2024. "Does Islamic investing modify portfolio performance? Time-varying optimization strategies for conventional and Shariah energy-ESG-utilities portfolio," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 37-57.
    6. Rizwan Ahmed & Fatima Yusuf & Maria Ishaque, 2024. "Green bonds as a bridge to the UN sustainable development goals on environment: A climate change empirical investigation," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 2428-2451, April.
    7. H. Kent Baker & Satish Kumar & Debidutta Pattnaik, 2020. "Twenty‐five years of Review of Financial Economics: A bibliometric overview," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(1), pages 3-23, January.
    8. Mazzuca, Maria & Panzera, Elena & Ruberto, Sabrina, 2023. "The investor's participation in social impact bonds," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 349-363.
    9. Ved Dilip Beloskar & S. V. D. Nageswara Rao, 2024. "Screening activity matters: Evidence from ESG portfolio performance from an emerging market," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 2593-2619, July.
    10. Ben Ameur, Hachmi & Ftiti, Zied & Louhichi, Waël & Yousfi, Mohamed, 2024. "Do green investments improve portfolio diversification? Evidence from mean conditional value-at-risk optimization," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    11. Delâtre, Chloë, 2022. "Désinvestissement des combustibles fossiles: quelles conséquences pour la gestion de portefeuille ? [Fossil fuel divestment and portfolios implications]," MPRA Paper 114633, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Vanita Tripathi & Amanpreet Kaur, 2022. "Does Socially Responsible Investing Pay in Developing Countries? A Comparative Study Across Select Developed and Developing Markets," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 11(2), pages 189-205, June.

    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. Jeroen Derwall & Kees Koedijk, 2009. "Socially Responsible Fixed‐Income Funds," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1‐2), pages 210-229, January.
    2. Jacobs, Heiko & Müller, Sebastian & Weber, Martin, 2014. "How should individual investors diversify? An empirical evaluation of alternative asset allocation policies," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 62-85.
    3. Sebastian Lobe & Christian Walkshäusl, 2016. "Vice versus virtue investing around the world," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 303-344, March.
    4. Korn, Olaf & Möller, Philipp M. & Schwehm, Christian, 2019. "Drawdown measures: Are they all the same?," CFR Working Papers 19-04, University of Cologne, Centre for Financial Research (CFR).
    5. Marie Brière & Ariane Szafarz, 2021. "When it rains, it pours: Multifactor asset management in good and bad times," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 44(3), pages 641-669, September.
    6. Jan Bastin, 2015. "Volatility Effect: An Application on the German Stock Market [Efekt nízkého rizika: Aplikace na německý akciový trh]," Český finanční a účetní časopis, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2015(1), pages 36-54.
    7. Zaleczna Magdalena & Wolski Rafał, 2010. "Polish Pension Funds Investment - is There A Place For Real Property in A Portfolio?," Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia, Sciendo, vol. 9(1), pages 151-166, January.
    8. Anlan Wang & Aleš Kresta & Tomáš Tichý, 2024. "Evaluation of strategy portfolios," Computational Management Science, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-27, June.
    9. Christian Walkshäusl & Sebastian Lobe, 2010. "Fundamental indexing around the world," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(3), pages 117-127, August.
    10. Gourieroux, C. & Jouneau, F., 1999. "Econometrics of efficient fitted portfolios," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 87-118, January.
    11. Döpke, Jörg & Müller, Karsten & Tegtmeier, Lars, 2018. "The economic value of business cycle forecasts for potential investors – Evidence from Germany," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 445-461.
    12. PANAGIOTIS Anastasiadis & EFTHIMIOS Katsaros & ANASTASIOS-TAXIARCHIS KOUTSIOUKIS, 2020. "Performance-Risk Nexus Of Global Low-Rated Etfs During The Qe-Tapering Period," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 15(1), pages 194-211, April.
    13. Mevlüt CAMGÖZ & K. Ahmet KÖSE & Belkıs SEVAL, 2018. "Risk and Return Characteristics of Islamic Indices: An Empirical Approach," Istanbul Business Research, Istanbul University Business School, vol. 47(2), pages 124-153, November.
    14. William L. Beedles & Peter Dodd & R. R. Officer, 1988. "Regularities in Australian Share Returns," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 13(1), pages 1-29, June.
    15. Chang, Eric & Eun, Cheol S. & Kolodny, Richard, 1995. "International diversification through closed-end country funds," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(7), pages 1237-1263, October.
    16. Sebastian Krimm & Hendrik Scholz & Marco Wilkens, 2012. "The Sharpe ratio's market climate bias: Theoretical and empirical evidence from US equity mutual funds," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 13(4), pages 227-242, August.
    17. Walkshäusl, Christian & Lobe, Sebastian, 2010. "Fundamental indexing around the world," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 117-127, August.
    18. Andreas Hoepner & Thereza Aguiar & Ravi Majithia, 2014. "The Level of Compliance with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes: Does it Matter to Stock Markets?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 119(3), pages 329-348, February.
    19. Benjamin R. Auer, 2016. "Do Socially Responsible Investment Policies Add or Destroy European Stock Portfolio Value?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 381-397, May.
    20. Jeroen Derwall & Kees Koedijk, 2009. "Socially Responsible Fixed-Income Funds," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1-2), pages 210-229.

    More about this item

    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:wly:revfec:v:6:y:1997:i:2:p:137-149. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1873-5924 .

    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.