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Risk-mitigating effect of ESG on momentum portfolios

Author

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  • Lars Kaiser
  • Jan Welters

Abstract

Purpose - Existing empirical evidence on the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration on momentum portfolios is limited. The combination of the two is relevant given the risk-mitigating effect of ESG criteria, as well as the existence of momentum crashes. As such, ESG might lend itself to reduce crash risk for momentum investors. Design/methodology/approach - In this paper, the authors provide insight into the impact of an ESG-constrained investment universe on momentum returns. The overall investment universe is split into high and low ESG-rated segments to anylse the characteristics of momentum portfolios conditional on the ESG rating. Findings - The authors document the existence of a momentum premium across European stocks and for a subset of high and lows ESG-rated stocks. However, absolute returns of momentum strategies are significantly lower if momentum strategies are pursued on a subset of high ESG stocks. Additionally, findings document a risk-mitigation effect of ESG for momentum portfolios with significantly lower returns for momentum portfolios based on low ESG stocks during periods of momentum crashes. Originality/value - Research on momentum investing and the momentum premium is large and well established, yet many questions remain. A recent study by Daniel and Moskowitz (2016) has analyzed crash risk for momentum investors and identified periods of strong momentum crashes. On the other hand, the literature on ESG integration in standing investment approaches is still limited, but as demand for sustainable products is increasing, so is the demand for a better understanding of the impact of ESG integration. Consequently, the authors provide evidence on the benefits of ESG integration for momentum investors to reduce their exposure to momentum crash risk.

Suggested Citation

  • Lars Kaiser & Jan Welters, 2019. "Risk-mitigating effect of ESG on momentum portfolios," Journal of Risk Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(5), pages 542-555, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:jrfpps:jrf-05-2019-0075
    DOI: 10.1108/JRF-05-2019-0075
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Khan, Muhammad Arif, 2022. "ESG disclosure and Firm performance: A bibliometric and meta analysis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    2. Liu, Kaiyuan & Afzal, Ayesha & Zhong, Yifan & Hasnaoui, Amir & Yue, Xiao-Guang, 2023. "Investigating the resource curse: Evidence from MENA and N-11 countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    3. Su, Chi-Wei & Mirza, Nawazish & Umar, Muhammad & Chang, Tsangyao & Albu, Lucian Liviu, 2022. "Resource extraction, greenhouse emissions, and banking performance," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Zhou, Rong & Su, Kaihua & Zheng, Li, 2022. "Natural resources led growth and the role of financial development: Evidence from Next-11 economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    5. Vinay Khandelwal & Prashant Sharma & Varun Chotia, 2023. "ESG Disclosure and Firm Performance: An Asset-Pricing Approach," Risks, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-22, June.
    6. Feng, Jie & Gao, Junhong, 2023. "Natural resource curse hypothesis and governance: Understanding the role of rule of law and political risk in the context of China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    7. Liu, Guangqiang & Zeng, Qing & Lei, Juan, 2022. "Dynamic risks from climate policy uncertainty: A case study for the natural gas market," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Zhou, Xiaoxiao & Lin, Junjie & Wang, Lu & Huang, Hongyun & Zhao, Xin, 2022. "Wind power resources and China's sustainable development roadmap: Evidence from China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Dai, Zhifeng & Luo, Zhuang & Liu, Chang, 2023. "Dynamic volatility spillovers and investment strategies between crude oil, new energy, and resource related sectors," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    10. Huang, Lilong & Dong, Dongdong & Dong, Xueqin, 2023. "Natural resources extraction, financial expansion and remittances: South Asian economies perspective of sustainable development," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    11. Junchao Zhang & Wei Han, 2022. "Carbon emission trading and equity markets in China: How liquidity is impacting carbon returns?," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 6466-6478, December.
    12. Eduardo C. Garrido-Merch'an & Sol Mora-Figueroa-Cruz-Guzm'an & Mar'ia Coronado-Vaca, 2023. "Deep Reinforcement Learning for ESG financial portfolio management," Papers 2307.09631, arXiv.org.
    13. Du, Yanan & Zhou, Jianping & Bai, Jiancheng & Cao, Yujia, 2023. "Breaking the resource curse: The perspective of improving carbon emission efficiency based on digital infrastructure construction," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    14. Su, Chi-Wei & Yuan, Xi & Umar, Muhammad & Chang, Tsangyao, 2022. "Dynamic price linkage of energies in transformation: Evidence from quantile connectedness," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    15. Ji, Xiangfeng & Song, Tianyu & Umar, Muhammad & Safi, Adnan, 2023. "How China is mitigating resource curse through infrastructural development?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    16. Xu, Baochang & Li, Sihui & Afzal, Ayesha & Mirza, Nawazish & Zhang, Meng, 2022. "The impact of financial development on environmental sustainability: A European perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    17. Meng, Bing & Xue, Kunkun & Han, Miaoyi, 2022. "Digitalization, natural resources rents, and financial market risk: Evidence from G7 countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    18. Wang, Shubin & Li, Jian & Razzaq, Asim, 2023. "Do environmental governance, technology innovation and institutions lead to lower resource footprints: An imperative trajectory for sustainability," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    19. Li, Zheng-Zheng & Li, Yameng & Huang, Chia-Yun & Peculea, Adelina Dumitrescu, 2023. "Volatility spillover across Chinese carbon markets: Evidence from quantile connectedness method," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    20. Muhammad Abubakr Naeem & Sitara Karim & Aviral Kumar Tiwari, 2023. "Risk Connectedness Between Green and Conventional Assets with Portfolio Implications," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 62(2), pages 609-637, August.
    21. Appiah, Michael & Karim, Sitara & Naeem, Muhammad Abubakr & Lucey, Brian M., 2022. "Do institutional affiliation affect the renewable energy-growth nexus in the Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from a multi-quantitative approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 785-795.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Momentum; ESG; Firm risk; Momentum crashes; Momentum portfolio optionality; Risk-mitigation hypothesis; G32; M14;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

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