IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jfinec/v139y2021i1p162-185.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact investing

Author

Listed:
  • Barber, Brad M.
  • Morse, Adair
  • Yasuda, Ayako

Abstract

We show that investors derive nonpecuniary utility from investing in dual-objective Venture Capital (VC) funds, thus sacrificing returns. Impact funds earn 4.7 percentage points (ppts) lower internal rates of return (IRRs) ex-post than traditional VC funds. In random utility/willingness-to-pay (WTP) models investors accept 2.5–3.7 ppts lower IRRs ex ante for impact funds. The positive WTP result is robust to fund access rationing and investor heterogeneity in fund expected returns. Development organizations, foundations, financial institutions, public pensions, Europeans, and United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment signatories have high WTP. Investors with mission objectives and/or facing political pressure exhibit high WTP; those subject to legal restrictions (e.g., Employee Retirement Income Security Act) exhibit low WTP.

Suggested Citation

  • Barber, Brad M. & Morse, Adair & Yasuda, Ayako, 2021. "Impact investing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(1), pages 162-185.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:139:y:2021:i:1:p:162-185
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2020.07.008
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304405X2030194X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jfineco.2020.07.008?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sensoy, Berk A. & Wang, Yingdi & Weisbach, Michael S., 2014. "Limited partner performance and the maturing of the private equity industry," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(3), pages 320-343.
    2. Laura Bottazzi & Marco Da Rin & Thomas Hellmann, 2016. "Editor's Choice The Importance of Trust for Investment: Evidence from Venture Capital," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(9), pages 2283-2318.
    3. Joel Huber and Kenneth Train., 2000. "On the Similarity of Classical and Bayesian Estimates of Individual Mean Partworths," Economics Working Papers E00-289, University of California at Berkeley.
    4. Arthur Korteweg & Stefan Nagel, 2016. "Risk‐Adjusting the Returns to Venture Capital," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 71(3), pages 1437-1470, June.
    5. Samuel M. Hartzmark & Abigail B. Sussman, 2019. "Do Investors Value Sustainability? A Natural Experiment Examining Ranking and Fund Flows," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 74(6), pages 2789-2837, December.
    6. Arno Riedl & Paul Smeets, 2017. "Why Do Investors Hold Socially Responsible Mutual Funds?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(6), pages 2505-2550, December.
    7. Steven N. Kaplan & Antoinette Schoar, 2005. "Private Equity Performance: Returns, Persistence, and Capital Flows," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(4), pages 1791-1823, August.
    8. 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.
    9. Larry G. Epstein & Stanley E. Zin, 2013. "Substitution, risk aversion and the temporal behavior of consumption and asset returns: A theoretical framework," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 12, pages 207-239, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    10. Anna Kovner & Josh Lerner, 2015. "Doing Well by Doing Good? Community Development Venture Capital," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 643-663, September.
    11. L. Bottazzi & M. Da Rin & T. Hellmann, 2007. "The Importance of Trust for Investment: Evidence from Venture Capital," Working Papers 612, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    12. Morten Sorensen & Neng Wang & Jinqiang Yang, 2014. "Valuing Private Equity," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(7), pages 1977-2021.
    13. Bollen, Nicolas P. B., 2007. "Mutual Fund Attributes and Investor Behavior," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(3), pages 683-708, September.
    14. 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.
    15. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 2007. "Disagreement, tastes, and asset prices," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(3), pages 667-689, March.
    16. Hart, Oliver & Zingales, Luigi, 2017. "Companies Should Maximize Shareholder Welfare Not Market Value," Journal of Law, Finance, and Accounting, now publishers, vol. 2(2), pages 247-275, November.
    17. Daniel McFadden, 1986. "The Choice Theory Approach to Market Research," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(4), pages 275-297.
    18. David Revelt & Kenneth Train, 1998. "Mixed Logit With Repeated Choices: Households' Choices Of Appliance Efficiency Level," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(4), pages 647-657, November.
    19. Rosen, Sherwin, 1974. "Hedonic Prices and Implicit Markets: Product Differentiation in Pure Competition," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(1), pages 34-55, Jan.-Feb..
    20. Josh Lerner & Antoinette Schoar & Wan Wongsunwai, 2007. "Smart Institutions, Foolish Choices: The Limited Partner Performance Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(2), pages 731-764, April.
    21. Dyck, Alexander & Lins, Karl V. & Roth, Lukas & Wagner, Hannes F., 2019. "Do institutional investors drive corporate social responsibility? International evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(3), pages 693-714.
    22. Hong, Harrison & Kacperczyk, Marcin, 2009. "The price of sin: The effects of social norms on markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 15-36, July.
    23. David Laibson, 1997. "Golden Eggs and Hyperbolic Discounting," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(2), pages 443-478.
    24. Yael V. Hochberg & Alexander Ljungqvist & Annette Vissing-Jørgensen, 2014. "Informational Holdup and Performance Persistence in Venture Capital," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 102-152, January.
    25. Daniel R. Cavagnaro & Berk A. Sensoy & Yingdi Wang & Michael S. Weisbach, 2019. "Measuring Institutional Investors’ Skill at Making Private Equity Investments," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 74(6), pages 3089-3134, December.
    26. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1997. "Industry costs of equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 153-193, February.
    27. Aleksandar Andonov & Yael V. Hochberg & Joshua D. Rauh, 2018. "Political Representation and Governance: Evidence from the Investment Decisions of Public Pension Funds," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 73(5), pages 2041-2086, October.
    28. Alexander Dyck & Adair Morse, 2011. "Sovereign Wealth Fund Portfolios," Working Papers 2011-003, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    29. Andreoni, James, 1989. "Giving with Impure Altruism: Applications to Charity and Ricardian Equivalence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(6), pages 1447-1458, December.
    30. Andreoni, James, 1990. "Impure Altruism and Donations to Public Goods: A Theory of Warm-Glow Giving?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 100(401), pages 464-477, June.
    31. Ji-Woong Chung & Berk A. Sensoy & Léa Stern & Michael S. Weisbach, 2012. "Pay for Performance from Future Fund Flows: The Case of Private Equity," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(11), pages 3259-3304.
    32. Sudheer Chava, 2014. "Environmental Externalities and Cost of Capital," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(9), pages 2223-2247, September.
    33. Bridget Gainer, 2009. "What lessons does the CRA offer the insurance industry?," Monograph, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, number 2009wldtcoti.
    34. Robert S. Harris & Tim Jenkinson & Steven N. Kaplan, 2014. "Private Equity Performance: What Do We Know?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(5), pages 1851-1882, October.
    35. Jorion, Philippe, 1986. "Bayes-Stein Estimation for Portfolio Analysis," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(3), pages 279-292, September.
    36. Arthur Korteweg & Morten Sorensen, 2010. "Risk and Return Characteristics of Venture Capital-Backed Entrepreneurial Companies," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(10), pages 3738-3772, October.
    37. Cameron, Trudy Ann & James, Michelle D, 1987. "Efficient Estimation Methods for "Closed-ended' Contingent Valuation Surveys," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(2), pages 269-276, May.
    38. Alexander Ljungqvist & Felicia Marston & William J. Wilhelm, 2006. "Competing for Securities Underwriting Mandates: Banking Relationships and Analyst Recommendations," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(1), pages 301-340, February.
    39. Benson, Karen L. & Humphrey, Jacquelyn E., 2008. "Socially responsible investment funds: Investor reaction to current and past returns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1850-1859, September.
    40. repec:oup:rfinst:v:25:y::i:11:p:3259-3304 is not listed on IDEAS
    41. Yael V. Hochberg & Joshua D. Rauh, 2013. "Local Overweighting and Underperformance: Evidence from Limited Partner Private Equity Investments," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 26(2), pages 403-451.
    42. Zvi Griliches, 1961. "Hedonic Price Indexes for Automobiles: An Econometric of Quality Change," NBER Chapters, in: The Price Statistics of the Federal Goverment, pages 173-196, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    43. Jędrzej Białkowski & Laura T. Starks, 2016. "SRI Funds: Investor Demand, Exogenous Shocks and ESG Profiles," Working Papers in Economics 16/11, University of Canterbury, Department of Economics and Finance.
    44. Korteweg, Arthur & Sorensen, Morten, 2017. "Skill and luck in private equity performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 535-562.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Pástor, Ľuboš & Stambaugh, Robert F. & Taylor, Lucian A., 2021. "Sustainable investing in equilibrium," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 550-571.
    2. Tereza Tykvová, 2018. "Venture capital and private equity financing: an overview of recent literature and an agenda for future research," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 88(3), pages 325-362, May.
    3. Korteweg, Arthur & Sorensen, Morten, 2017. "Skill and luck in private equity performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 535-562.
    4. Nofsinger, John R. & Sulaeman, Johan & Varma, Abhishek, 2019. "Institutional investors and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 700-725.
    5. Nadauld, Taylor D. & Sensoy, Berk A. & Vorkink, Keith & Weisbach, Michael S., 2019. "The liquidity cost of private equity investments: Evidence from secondary market transactions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(3), pages 158-181.
    6. Lerner, Josh & Mao, Jason & Schoar, Antoinette & Zhang, Nan R., 2022. "Investing outside the box: Evidence from alternative vehicles in private equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(1), pages 359-380.
    7. Robinson, David T. & Sensoy, Berk A., 2016. "Cyclicality, performance measurement, and cash flow liquidity in private equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(3), pages 521-543.
    8. Brown, Gregory W. & Gredil, Oleg R. & Kaplan, Steven N., 2019. "Do private equity funds manipulate reported returns?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(2), pages 267-297.
    9. Ferriani, Fabrizio, 2023. "Issuing bonds during the Covid-19 pandemic: Was there an ESG premium?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    10. Haozhe Han, 2023. "Does increasing the QFII quota promote Chinese institutional investors to drive ESG?," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(6), pages 1627-1643, November.
    11. Gutsche, Gunnar & Ziegler, Andreas, 2019. "Which private investors are willing to pay for sustainable investments? Empirical evidence from stated choice experiments," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 193-214.
    12. Barber, Brad M. & Yasuda, Ayako, 2017. "Interim fund performance and fundraising in private equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(1), pages 172-194.
    13. Aleksandar Andonov & Roman Kräussl & Joshua Rauh & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2021. "Institutional Investors and Infrastructure Investing [Pension fund asset allocation and liability discount rates]," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(8), pages 3880-3934.
    14. Robert S. Harris & Tim Jenkinson & Steven N. Kaplan & Ruediger Stucke, 2020. "Has Persistence Persisted in Private Equity? Evidence from Buyout and Venture Capital Funds," Working Papers 2020-167, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    15. Lapanan, Nicha, 2018. "The investment behavior of socially responsible individual investors," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 214-226.
    16. Dumitrescu, Ariadna & Järvinen, Jesse & Zakriya, Mohammed, 2023. "Hidden Gem or Fool’s Gold: Can passive ESG ETFs outperform the benchmarks?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    17. Gillan, Stuart L. & Koch, Andrew & Starks, Laura T., 2021. "Firms and social responsibility: A review of ESG and CSR research in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    18. Beatrice Boumda & Darren Duxbury & Cristina Ortiz & Luis Vicente, 2021. "Do Socially Responsible Investment Funds Sell Losses and Ride Gains? The Disposition Effect in SRI Funds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-14, July.
    19. Wagner, Alexander F. & Ceccarelli, Marco & Ramelli, Stefano, 2022. "Low-carbon mutual funds," CEPR Discussion Papers 13599, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Maiia Sleptcova & Heidi Falkenbach, 2021. "Managerial Skill and European PERE Fund Performance," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 665-690, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Impact investing; Venture capital; Private equity; Socially responsible investment; United nations principles of responsible investment (UNPRI); Sustainable investing; Public pension funds; Willingness to pay; Random utility discrete choice models;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

    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:eee:jfinec:v:139:y:2021:i:1:p:162-185. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505576 .

    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.