IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/riibaf/v66y2023ics0275531923001344.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Performance of ESG-integrated smart beta strategies in Asia-Pacific stock markets

Author

Listed:
  • Tan, Yeng-May
  • Szulczyk, Kenneth
  • Sii, Yew-Hei

Abstract

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing is about ethical investing. While ESG investing has garnered heightened attention, the research has not settled on whether ESG investing can “do well while doing good”. Using a proprietary ESG rating database of monthly firm-specific data, we examine the performance of ESG-incorporated investing strategies in Australia, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. Specifically, we combine positive screening and the smart beta approach to evaluate the performance of ESG-based and non-ESG-based (traditional) equity portfolios. Our key findings reveal that high-ESG-based portfolios do not offer superior risk-adjusted returns compared to the low-rated portfolios. While a high-ESG-rated portfolio generally outperforms the market index, the ESG and traditional smart beta alphas differ little. Our results also indicate that the minimum-volatility portfolio achieves the best performance of all the factors. We use data from Refinitiv ESG and Bloomberg ESG to substantiate and support the results. Our findings add to the growing ESG literature that answers whether investors risk sacrificing returns while investing ethically.

Suggested Citation

  • Tan, Yeng-May & Szulczyk, Kenneth & Sii, Yew-Hei, 2023. "Performance of ESG-integrated smart beta strategies in Asia-Pacific stock markets," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:66:y:2023:i:c:s0275531923001344
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2023.102008
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531923001344
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ribaf.2023.102008?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rui Albuquerque & Yrjo Koskinen & Shuai Yang & Chendi Zhang, 2020. "Resiliency of Environmental and Social Stocks: An Analysis of the Exogenous COVID-19 Market Crash," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 9(3), pages 593-621.
    2. 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.
    3. Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Yongtae Kim, 2017. "Country-level institutions, firm value, and the role of corporate social responsibility initiatives," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(3), pages 360-385, April.
    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. Iqbal, Najaf & Umar, Zaghum & Ruman, Asif M. & Jiang, Shaohua, 2024. "The term structure of yield curve and connectedness among ESG investments," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(PA).
    2. Gerasimos G. Rompotis, 2024. "The Performance of ESG ETFs vis-à-vis non-ESG ETFs in Hong Kong," Climate Economics and Finance, Anser Press, vol. 2(1), pages 12-23, March.

    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. Benjamin Lynch & Martha O'Hagan‐Luff, 2024. "Relative corporate social performance and cost of equity capital: International evidence," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 2882-2910, July.
    2. Danni Chen & Xue Chen & Huiying Sun, 2023. "Does corporate social responsibility protect shareholder value from the shock of COVID‐19? Evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(3), pages 3077-3094, September.
    3. Cini, Federico & Ferrari, Annalisa, 2025. "Towards the estimation of ESG ratings: A machine learning approach using balance sheet ratios," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PB).
    4. Gangi, Francesco & Meles, Antonio & Monferrà, Stefano & Mustilli, Mario, 2020. "Does corporate social responsibility help the survivorship of SMEs and large firms?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    5. Simona Cosma & Paolo Cucurachi & Vincenzo Gentile & Giuseppe Rimo, 2024. "Sustainable finance disclosure regulation insights: Unveiling socially responsible funds performance during COVID‐19 pandemic and Russia–Ukraine war," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3242-3257, May.
    6. Vishal Roy & Twinkle Jaiswal & Amit Gautam, 2024. "Assessing risk profiles of ESG portfolios in global financial markets," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 51(2), pages 183-194, June.
    7. Lei, Heng & Xue, Minggao & Liu, Huiling & Ye, Jing, 2023. "Precious metal as a safe haven for global ESG stocks: Portfolio implications for socially responsible investing," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    8. Poursoleyman, Ehsan & Mansourfar, Gholamreza & Rezaee, Zabihollah & Homayoun, Saeid, 2024. "Corporate social responsibility and investment efficiency: The roles of national stakeholder orientation and legal origins," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 889-911.
    9. Mansouri, Sasan & Momtaz, Paul P., 2022. "Financing sustainable entrepreneurship: ESG measurement, valuation, and performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(6).
    10. Jędrzej Białkowski & Anna Sławik, 2022. "Does Companies’ ESG Performance Make a Difference for New Zealand’s Stock Market Investors during the COVID-19 Pandemic?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-12, November.
    11. Imran, Zulfiqar Ali & Ahad, Muhammad & Shahzad, Khurram & Ahmad, Mobeen & Hameed, Imran, 2024. "Safe haven properties of industrial stocks against ESG in the United States: Portfolio implication for sustainable investments," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    12. Zhang, Ning & Zhang, Yue & Zong, Zhe, 2023. "Fund ESG performance and downside risk: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    13. Ning Ding & Jerry T. Parwada & Jianfeng Shen & Shan Zhou, 2020. "When Does a Stock Boycott Work? Evidence from a Clinical Study of the Sudan Divestment Campaign," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(3), pages 507-527, May.
    14. Fang, Fei & Parida, Sitikantha, 2022. "Sustainable mutual fund performance and flow in the recent years through the COVID-19 pandemic," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    15. Omura, Akihiro & Roca, Eduardo & Nakai, Miwa, 2021. "Does responsible investing pay during economic downturns: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    16. Francesco Gangi & Antonio Meles & Eugenio D'Angelo & Lucia Michela Daniele, 2019. "Sustainable development and corporate governance in the financial system: Are environmentally friendly banks less risky?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(3), pages 529-547, May.
    17. Shackleton, Mark & Yan, Jiali & Yao, Yaqiong, 2022. "What drives a firm's ES performance? Evidence from stock returns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    18. Francesco Gangi & Eugenio D'Angelo & Lucia Michela Daniele & Nicola Varrone, 2021. "Assessing the impact of socially responsible human resources management on company environmental performance and cost of debt," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1511-1527, September.
    19. Fiorillo, Paolo & Santilli, Gianluca, 2024. "The influence of shareholder ESG performance on corporate sustainability: Exploring the role of ownership structure," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 67(PA).
    20. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental; social; and governance; ESG; Smart beta strategies; Sustainable investing; Asia-Pacific stock markets;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G1 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

    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:riibaf:v:66:y:2023:i:c:s0275531923001344. 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/ribaf .

    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.