IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i19p8034-d421326.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable Funds’ Performance Evaluation

Author

Listed:
  • Xiao-Guang Yue

    (Department of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 1516, Cyprus)

  • Yan Han

    (School of Humanities and Social Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Deimante Teresiene

    (Finance Department, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vilnius University, LT-10223 Vilnius, Lithuania)

  • Justina Merkyte

    (Finance Department, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vilnius University, LT-10223 Vilnius, Lithuania)

  • Wei Liu

    (Business School, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266100, China)

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to consider if the growing popularity of sustainable investment does not create additional risks in investing. Different views on sustainable investments were analyzed to identify different approaches to the main risks. A quantitative analysis was carried out to investigate the possible benefits and advantages of sustainable investment. Without taking into account the social perks of investing in sustainable funds, this study evaluates the performance and economic returns of both sustainable and traditional funds. The research was carried out in two parts by comparing samples of 30 sustainable and 30 traditional funds. Firstly, such methods as annual returns, standard deviations, Sharpe ratios, skewness, and kurtosis were calculated and analyzed. The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), Fama–French three-factor model and Carhart four-factor model were used to value different market portfolios. The findings of this study suggest that sustainable funds are less risky than traditional funds. However, at the same time, we want to point to pay attention to the period of our analysis and to have in mind that an increasing demand of social responsible assets increases risks as well. However, no clear evidence was found to confirm that sustainable funds can generate higher returns compared to traditional piers or benchmark index. Moreover, after studying different methods the study reveals that the Fama–French three-factor model was the most suitable for explaining the traditional and sustainable funds’ results.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiao-Guang Yue & Yan Han & Deimante Teresiene & Justina Merkyte & Wei Liu, 2020. "Sustainable Funds’ Performance Evaluation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-20, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:19:p:8034-:d:421326
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/19/8034/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/19/8034/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. N. Kreander & R.H. Gray & D.M. Power & C.D. Sinclair, 2005. "Evaluating the Performance of Ethical and Non‐ethical Funds: A Matched Pair Analysis," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7‐8), pages 1465-1493, September.
    2. Leonardo Becchetti & Rocco Ciciretti & Ambrogio Dalò & Stefano Herzel, 2015. "Socially responsible and conventional investment funds: performance comparison and the global financial crisis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(25), pages 2541-2562, May.
    3. Alan Lewis & Carmen Juravle, 2010. "Morals, Markets and Sustainable Investments: A Qualitative Study of ‘Champions’," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(3), pages 483-494, May.
    4. Renneboog, Luc & Ter Horst, Jenke & Zhang, Chendi, 2011. "Is ethical money financially smart? Nonfinancial attributes and money flows of socially responsible investment funds," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 562-588, October.
    5. Xue-Feng Shao & Kostas Gouliamos & Ben Nan-Feng Luo & Shigeyuki Hamori & Stephen Satchell & Xiao-Guang Yue & Jane Qiu, 2020. "Diversification and Desynchronicity: An Organizational Portfolio Perspective on Corporate Risk Reduction," Risks, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-16, May.
    6. Ming-Lang Tseng & Phan Anh Tan & Shiou-Yun Jeng & Chun-Wei Remen Lin & Yeneneh Tamirat Negash & Susilo Nur Aji Cokro Darsono, 2019. "Sustainable Investment: Interrelated among Corporate Governance, Economic Performance and Market Risks Using Investor Preference Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, April.
    7. Renneboog, Luc & Ter Horst, Jenke & Zhang, Chendi, 2008. "Socially responsible investments: Institutional aspects, performance, and investor behavior," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1723-1742, September.
    8. Han He & Sicheng Li & Lin Hu & Nelson Duarte & Otilia Manta & Xiao-Guang Yue, 2019. "Risk Factor Identification of Sustainable Guarantee Network Based on Logistic Regression Algorithm," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-19, June.
    9. John Lintner, 1965. "Security Prices, Risk, And Maximal Gains From Diversification," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 20(4), pages 587-615, December.
    10. Bauer, Rob & Koedijk, Kees & Otten, Roger, 2005. "International evidence on ethical mutual fund performance and investment style," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(7), pages 1751-1767, July.
    11. N. Kreander & R.H. Gray & D.M. Power & C.D. Sinclair, 2005. "Evaluating the Performance of Ethical and Non-ethical Funds: A Matched Pair Analysis," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7-8), pages 1465-1493.
    12. Federica Ielasi & Monica Rossolini, 2019. "Responsible or Thematic? The True Nature of Sustainability-Themed Mutual Funds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-17, June.
    13. Iván Arribas & María Dolores Espinós-Vañó & Fernando García & Paula Beatriz Morales-Bañuelos, 2019. "The Inclusion of Socially Irresponsible Companies in Sustainable Stock Indices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-14, April.
    14. Joakim Sandberg & Carmen Juravle & Ted Hedesström & Ian Hamilton, 2009. "The Heterogeneity of Socially Responsible Investment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(4), pages 519-533, July.
    15. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1996. "Multifactor Explanations of Asset Pricing Anomalies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(1), pages 55-84, March.
    16. Eugene F. Fama & Kenneth R. French, 2010. "Luck versus Skill in the Cross‐Section of Mutual Fund Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(5), pages 1915-1947, October.
    17. Jegadeesh, Narasimhan & Titman, Sheridan, 1993. "Returns to Buying Winners and Selling Losers: Implications for Stock Market Efficiency," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(1), pages 65-91, March.
    18. Tizian M. Fritz & Georg von Schnurbein, 2019. "Beyond Socially Responsible Investing: Effects of Mission-Driven Portfolio Selection," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-15, December.
    19. Carhart, Mark M, 1997. "On Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 57-82, March.
    20. Pablo Durán-Santomil & Luis Otero-González & Renato Heitor Correia-Domingues & Juan Carlos Reboredo, 2019. "Does Sustainability Score Impact Mutual Fund Performance?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-17, May.
    21. GU, Jianqiang & Umar, Muhammad & Soran, Semih & Yue, Xiao-Guang, 2020. "Exacerbating effect of energy prices on resource curse: Can research and development be a mitigating factor?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    22. Nofsinger, John & Varma, Abhishek, 2014. "Socially responsible funds and market crises," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 180-193.
    23. William F. Sharpe, 1964. "Capital Asset Prices: A Theory Of Market Equilibrium Under Conditions Of Risk," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 19(3), pages 425-442, September.
    24. Gaurav Talan & Gagan Deep Sharma, 2019. "Doing Well by Doing Good: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda for Sustainable Investment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-16, January.
    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. Nadine Strauß, 2021. "Communicating Sustainable Responsible Investments as Financial Advisors: Engaging Private Investors with Strategic Communication," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-18, March.
    2. Iqbal Owadally & Jean-René Mwizere & Neema Kalidas & Kalyanie Murugesu & Muhammad Kashif, 2021. "Long-Term Sustainable Investment for Retirement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-22, April.

    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. Łukasz Dopierała & Magdalena Mosionek-Schweda & Daria Ilczuk, 2020. "Does the Asset Allocation Policy Affect the Performance of Climate-Themed Funds? Empirical Evidence from the Scandinavian Mutual Funds Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-23, January.
    2. Xing Chen & Bert Scholtens, 2018. "The urge to act: A comparison of active and passive socially responsible investment funds in the United States," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1154-1173, November.
    3. Laura Fabregat-Aibar & M. Glòria Barberà-Mariné & Antonio Terceño & Laia Pié, 2019. "A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis of Socially Responsible Funds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, May.
    4. Federica Ielasi & Monica Rossolini, 2019. "Responsible or Thematic? The True Nature of Sustainability-Themed Mutual Funds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-17, June.
    5. Nicolás Magner & Jaime F. Lavín & Mauricio A. Valle, 2022. "Modeling Synchronization Risk among Sustainable Exchange Trade Funds: A Statistical and Network Analysis Approach," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(19), pages 1-30, October.
    6. Gbenga Ibikunle & Carmen‐Pilar Martí‐Ballester, 2022. "Can water mutual funds aid sustainable development?," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 1173-1190, January.
    7. Yunieta Nainggolan & Janice How & Peter Verhoeven, 2016. "Ethical Screening and Financial Performance: The Case of Islamic Equity Funds," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 83-99, August.
    8. Leite, Paulo & Cortez, Maria Céu, 2015. "Performance of European socially responsible funds during market crises: Evidence from France," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 132-141.
    9. Sebastian Lobe & Christian Walkshäusl, 2016. "Vice versus virtue investing around the world," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 303-344, March.
    10. José Luis Miralles-Quirós & María Mar Miralles-Quirós & José Manuel Nogueira, 2020. "Sustainable Development Goals and Investment Strategies: The Profitability of Using Five-Factor Fama-French Alphas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-16, February.
    11. Muñoz, Fernando, 2016. "Cash flow timing skills of socially responsible mutual fund investors," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 110-124.
    12. Lars Hornuf & Gül Yüksel, 2022. "The Performance of Socially Responsible Investments: A Meta-Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 9724, CESifo.
    13. Luis Ferruz & Fernando Muñoz & María Vargas, 2012. "Managerial Abilities: Evidence from Religious Mutual Fund Managers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(4), pages 503-517, February.
    14. Y Ito & S Managi & A Matsuda, 2013. "Performances of socially responsible investment and environmentally friendly funds," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 64(11), pages 1583-1594, November.
    15. Stewart Jones & Sandra van der Laan & Geoff Frost & Janice Loftus, 2008. "The Investment Performance of Socially Responsible Investment Funds in Australia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 80(2), pages 181-203, June.
    16. Nakai, Miwa & Yamaguchi, Keiko & Takeuchi, Kenji, 2016. "Can SRI funds better resist global financial crisis? Evidence from Japan," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 12-20.
    17. Hutchinson, Mark C. & Mulcahy, Mark & O'Brien, John, 2018. "What is the cost of faith? An empirical investigation of Islamic purification," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 134-143.
    18. Hooi Hooi Lean & Fabio Pizzutilo & Kimberly Gleason, 2023. "Portfolio performance implications of investment in renewable energy equities: Green versus gray," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 2990-3005, November.
    19. José Luis Miralles-Quirós & María Mar Miralles-Quirós, 2020. "Who Knocks on the Door of Portfolio Performance Heaven: Sinner or Saint Investors?," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-18, November.
    20. Pablo Durán-Santomil & Luis Otero-González & Renato Heitor Correia-Domingues & Juan Carlos Reboredo, 2019. "Does Sustainability Score Impact Mutual Fund Performance?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-17, May.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:19:p:8034-:d:421326. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.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.