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Flow-Driven ESG Returns

Author

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  • Philippe van der Beck

    (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and Swiss Finance Institute)

Abstract

I show that the performance of ESG investments is strongly driven by price-pressure arising from flows towards sustainable funds, causing high realized returns that do not reflect high expected returns. The coefficient linking ESG flows and realized returns is the product of two factors: The deviation of green funds' portfolios from the market portfolio and a flow multiplier matrix that is the inverse of the market's demand elasticity of substitution between stocks. Empirically, withdrawing 1 dollar from the market portfolio and investing it in the representative ESG fund increases the aggregate value of high ESG-taste stocks by 2-2.5 dollars. Under the absence of flow-driven price pressure, the aggregate ESG industry would have strongly underperformed the market from 2016 to 2021. Furthermore, the positive alpha of a long-short ESG taste portfolio becomes significantly negative.

Suggested Citation

  • Philippe van der Beck, 2021. "Flow-Driven ESG Returns," Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper Series 21-71, Swiss Finance Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2171
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    Cited by:

    1. Gourdel, Régis & Sydow, Matthias, 2023. "Non-banks contagion and the uneven mitigation of climate risk," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    2. Gourdel, Régis & Sydow, Matthias, 2022. "Non-banks contagion and the uneven mitigation of climate risk," Working Paper Series 2757, European Central Bank.
    3. Gong Cheng & Eric Jondeau & Benoit Mojon & Dimitri Vayanos, 2023. "The impact of green investors on stock prices," BIS Working Papers 1127, Bank for International Settlements.
    4. Gil Cohen, 2023. "The impact of ESG risks on corporate value," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 1451-1468, May.
    5. Anquetin, Théophile & Coqueret, Guillaume & Tavin, Bertrand & Welgryn, Lou, 2022. "Scopes of carbon emissions and their impact on green portfolios," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    sustainable investing; ESG; price pressure; flows; demand elasticity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

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