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For whom does it pay to be a moral capitalist? Sustainability of corporate financial performance of ESG investment

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  • Mariya Gubareva
  • Zaghum Umar
  • Tatiana Sokolova
  • Valentina Antonyuk

Abstract

This paper analyzes the risk-return characteristics of socially responsible investing by employing a time-varying capital gain and Sharpe ratio analysis for various investment horizons. We employ the MSCI ESG (environmental, social and governance) leaders indices in ten markets encompassing Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, UK, USA, China, India, Russia, and South Africa. Our sample ranges from 2007–2020. We document that ESG investments have very desirable return and hedging attributes for investors in these markets, and especially so in the USA and emerging markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Mariya Gubareva & Zaghum Umar & Tatiana Sokolova & Valentina Antonyuk, 2023. "For whom does it pay to be a moral capitalist? Sustainability of corporate financial performance of ESG investment," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(5), pages 1-14, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0285027
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285027
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sharma, Gagan Deep & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar & Talan, Gaurav & Jain, Mansi, 2021. "Revisiting the sustainable versus conventional investment dilemma in COVID-19 times," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    2. Mansi Jain & Gagan Deep Sharma & Mrinalini Srivastava, 2019. "Can Sustainable Investment Yield Better Financial Returns: A Comparative Study of ESG Indices and MSCI Indices," Risks, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-18, February.
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    4. Umar, Zaghum & Gubareva, Mariya & Tran, Dang Khoa & Teplova, Tamara, 2021. "Impact of the Covid-19 induced panic on the Environmental, Social and Governance leaders equity volatility: A time-frequency analysis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    5. Raghunandan, Aneesh & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2022. "Do ESG funds make stakeholder-friendly investments?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115234, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Lili Liu, 2022. "Subnational debt: developing a sustainable market," Chapters, in: Benno Ferrarini & Marcelo M. Giugale & Juan J. Pradelli (ed.), The Sustainability of Asia’s Debt, chapter 6, pages 167-187, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Zaghum Umar & Mariya Gubareva, 2021. "The relationship between the Covid-19 media coverage and the Environmental, Social and Governance leaders equity volatility: a time-frequency wavelet analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(27), pages 3193-3206, June.
    8. Tamara Teplova & Tatiana Sokolova & Mariya Gubareva & Viktoria Sukhikh & Ning Cai, 2022. "The Multifaceted Sustainable Development and Export Intensity of Emerging Market Firms under Financial Constraints: The Role of ESG and Innovative Activity," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2022, pages 1-20, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gubareva, Mariya & Shafiullah, Muhammad & Teplova, Tamara, 2025. "Corrigendum to “Cross-quantile risk assessment: The interplay of crude oil, artificial intelligence, clean tech, and other markets” [Energy Economics Volume 141, January 2025, 108085]," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    2. Hanif, Waqas & El Khoury, Rim & Gubareva, Mariya & Teplova, Tamara, 2025. "Asymmetric connectedness among regional green economies, carbon markets, and oil shocks," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    3. Esparcia, Carlos & Gubareva, Mariya & Sokolova, Tatiana & Jareño, Francisco, 2025. "Cross-border ESG rating dynamics: An in-depth connectedness analysis of portfolio returns and volatilities in the USA and Canada," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(PA).

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