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The power of ESG transparency: The effect of the new SFDR sustainability labels on mutual funds and individual investors

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  • Becker, Martin G.
  • Martin, Fabio
  • Walter, Andreas

Abstract

This paper analyzes the effect of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) on mutual funds and individual investors in the EU. First, we study whether affected funds increase their sustainability compared to a control group. Second, we examine if the regulation makes individual investors allocate more capital into more sustainable funds. In a difference-in-differences setting, we analyze the influence of the regulation on ESG fund scores and fund net inflows. Our results show that affected funds increase their sustainability rating after the policy intervention. Additionally, we find that a better ESG label leads to larger fund net inflows.

Suggested Citation

  • Becker, Martin G. & Martin, Fabio & Walter, Andreas, 2022. "The power of ESG transparency: The effect of the new SFDR sustainability labels on mutual funds and individual investors," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:47:y:2022:i:pb:s1544612322000332
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2022.102708
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    Cited by:

    1. Di Song & Canyu Xu & Zewei Fu & Chao Yang, 2023. "How Does a Regulatory Minority Shareholder Influence the ESG Performance? A Quasi-Natural Experiment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-22, April.
    2. Jiang, Yihuo & Ni, Hongliang & Ni, Yihan & Guo, Xiaomei, 2023. "Assessing environmental, social, and governance performance and natural resource management policies in China's dual carbon era for a green economy," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    3. Richard Bofinger & Simon Cornée & Ariane Szafarz, 2024. "When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do: Disclosure Regulation and ESG Fund Management by Social and Conventional Banks," Working Papers CEB 24-003, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    4. Hebah Shalhoob & Khaled Hussainey, 2022. "Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Disclosure and the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Sustainability Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, December.
    5. Ren, Xiaohang & Li, Jingyao & He, Feng & Lucey, Brian, 2023. "Impact of climate policy uncertainty on traditional energy and green markets: Evidence from time-varying granger tests," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    6. Pineau, Edouard & Le, Phuong & Estran, Rémy, 2022. "Importance of ESG factors in sovereign credit ratings," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    7. Fabrice Hervé & Sylvain Marsat, 2023. "Eco-Anxiety, Connectedness to Nature & Green Equity Investments," Post-Print hal-04150758, HAL.
    8. Birindelli, Giuliana & Chiappini, Helen & Jalal, Raja Nabeel-Ud-Din, 2023. "SFDR, investor attention, and European financial markets," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    9. Ding, Hao & Ji, Qiang & Ma, Rufei & Zhai, Pengxiang, 2022. "High-carbon screening out: A DCC-MIDAS-climate policy risk method," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mutual fund; ESG; Sustainability ratings; Fund flows; Policy intervention;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

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