Socially Responsible Investment versus Socially Responsible Consumption

Over the last twenty years, the debate on financial performance of socially responsible investment (SRI) has not yielded a clear consensus, arguing mainly that there was no difference in performance between SRI and ‘conventional’ investment, although SRI could underperform or outperform in some cases. Our research, based on a meta-analysis ‘vote-counting’ approach of the empirical literature, allows us to observe that the effects of SRI on financial performance are multiple. Second, we conclude that the financial performance of SRI is radically changing according to the empirical methods employed by researchers.

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Socially Responsible Investment in Market Downturns

Griffith Law Review ◽

10.1080/10854670.2010.10854670 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 86-104

Author(s):

Richard Copp ◽

Michael L Kremmer ◽

Eduardo Roca

Keyword(s):

Socially Responsible Investment ◽

Socially Responsible ◽

Responsible Investment

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Environmentally friendly and socially responsible investment in and by occupational pension funds in the USA and in the EU

European Journal of Social Security ◽

10.1177/13882627211026930 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 138826272110269

Author(s):

Lauren Daniels ◽

Yves Stevens ◽

David Pratt

Keyword(s):

Financial Performance ◽

Investment Decision ◽

Pension Funds ◽

Socially Responsible Investment ◽

Occupational Pension ◽

Socially Responsible ◽

Responsible Investment ◽

Occupational Pensions ◽

The Usa ◽

The Eu

Worldwide pension funds, in their capacity as large institutional investors, are under increasing pressure to take social and environmental considerations into account in their investment decision-making process. The concepts Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) and Environmental Social Governance (ESG) are indeed ubiquitous in the current investment and pension community. This article aims to provide some insight into the conceptual relationship between SRI and ESG and its legal implications for the investment behaviour of private pension funds in the USA and the EU. Hence, the first part of the article gives some background to the distinct concepts of SRI and ESG. This leads to the finding that SRI goes one step further than ESG by prioritising moral or ethical considerations that may not be material to an investment’s financial performance, whereas ESG functions as a guideline to enhance financial performance. The second part analyses the legal possibilities and constraints for responsible investment in American occupational pensions and the third part does the same for European occupational pensions. The article concludes with a summary and comparative overview of the American and European lessons.

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