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Mironova, Anastasia y Lovisa Kynäs. "Ethical investing - why not? : An evaluation of financial performance of ethical indexes in comparison to conventional indexes". Thesis, Umeå universitet, Handelshögskolan vid Umeå universitet, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-57115.
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Problem: Do ethical investments perform better than conventional investments? Purpose: To evaluate whether Shariah-compliant indexes and/or socially responsible indexes can improve financial performance of an investment portfolio. Sub-problem: What kind of relationship exists between socially responsible investments and faith-based investments, represented by Shariah-compliant investments? Sub-purpose: To discover how two types of ethical investments, socially-responsible and Shariah-compliant, are related. Method: Quantitative study, covering three types of investment styles of four index families during the period from 2000 until 2011. Financial performance evaluation through the Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio and Jensen’s alpha. Conclusions: Conventional, socially responsible, and Shariah-compliant indexes do not have any significant differences in financial performance on a global basis. However, Shariah-compliant indexes could slightly over-perform conventional and socially responsible indexes during financial downturns. In the same time socially responsible indexes were noticed to be the most volatile during the whole period of study, to compare with conventional and Shariah-compliant. Regarding relationships, high correlations were found between ethical indexes, as well as between ethical and conventional indexes.
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Shloma, Elena. "The financial performance of ethical funds : A comparative analysis of the risk-adjusted performance of ethical and non-ethical mutual funds in UK". Thesis, Jönköping University, JIBS, Economics, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-9603.
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The review of the ethical funds literature shows the significant growth of the Socially Responsible Investments (SRI) in the last few decades. The increase of the interest towards SRI indicates that ethical issues have become more essential for the investors. However the number of surveys reveals that financial performance remains of an important concern for the socially responsible investors. Therefore the benchmark analysis of the expected returns and management fees of the ethical mutual funds is chosen as a topic for this thesis research. The risk-adjusted measures are used to analyze and compare the performance of the ethical and non-ethical mutual funds in United Kingdom. The analysis does not indicate the significant difference in the expected returns between the two groups of funds. However this study concludes that on average ethical funds charge higher management fees. Thus investing in ethical funds is more costly but gives about the same returns as investing in conventional funds.
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Wong, Victor (Siew Howe). "The Effect on Portfolio Performance of Diversification into Socially Responsible Investments: Evidence from an Australian context". Thesis, Griffith University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/365432.
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Socially responsible investment (SRI) has grown significantly in the last ten years.
Many international organizations have become increasingly involved in the movement
towards SRI. The move towards SRI investing is being driven by institutions such as the
United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing whose membership of financial
institutions, including asset owners and institutional investors, holds assets totalling
US$13 trillion. This growth was promoted further by the 2006 launch of the Principles
for Responsible Investment (PRI), with an agreement by leading pension funds, asset
managers and consultants to develop new strategies to embed environmental, social and
governance issues (ESG-issues). The tremendous growth has caught the attention of
investors and fund managers that are seeking alternative assets and markets to improve
their portfolio performance. There are claims, based on recent evidence, that SRI can
provide investors’ portfolios with better returns. The thesis aims to investigate this
claim.
The thesis examines the effect of diversifying into SRI in terms of risks and returns
from the perspective of an Australian investor, on the performance of a portfolio
consisting of stocks and bonds. In examining this aim, the thesis first identifies and
evaluates the performance of the optimal SRI portfolio which consists of Australian and
international SRI assets. Subsequently, the thesis constructs an optimal portfolio
consisting of stocks, bonds and SRI based on the identified SRI portfolio, whose
performance is then examined. In pursuit of the objective, the thesis conducts three
interconnected studies. Firstly, an analysis of the inter-linkages between the Australian
and other SRI markets worldwide. Secondly, an examination of the impact of
international diversification on the performance of SRI portfolios based on an
Australian perspective. Thirdly, an investigation of the impact of diversification into
SRI assets on the performance of a portfolio of stocks and bonds.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Griffith Business School
Griffith Business School
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Hoepner, Andreas G. F. "Essays on responsible investment, research output analyses and investment performance evaluation". Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/2130.
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This thesis includes four essays, of which each comprises two original contributions. Based on this thesis’ eight contributions, we add knowledge or understanding to the literatures on responsible investment, research output analyses and investment performance evaluation. First, we develop the first generic, reliable approach to benchmark research area output (e.g. journal articles or books), which we expect to appeal to governments’ increasing interest in monitoring their research funding investments. Second, we apply this approach to the research area of responsible investment, which is currently backed by an about $ 7 trillion industry. We find that the (quality weighted) quantity of responsible investment’s research output is statistically significantly under-proportional compared with peer research areas. One of several explanations for this result lies in the intransparency of the current responsible investment literature. Third, we develop an approach to research synthesis, which improves a research area’s transparency without experiencing many weaknesses of conventional literature reviews. We title this approach Influential Literature Analysis (ILA). Fourth, we apply ILA to the relatively intransparent responsible investment literature. One of our many findings is that responsible assets with their ceteris paribus under-proportional total risk might appear artificially unattractive when assessed by the most common investment performance measure, the Sharpe ratio, which is biased in favour of high risk assets due to its currently unsolved negative excess return problem. Fifth, we develop a generic, reliable and robust solution to the negative Sharpe ratio problem, which investors can customise according to their specific increasing incremental disutility of risk functions. Six, we generalise our solution to the negative Sharpe ratio problem, which allows us to solve the negative (excess) return problems of over twenty other investment performance measures. Seventh, we develop independent, statistically sophisticated tests of the sufficiency and quality of suggested solutions to the negative Sharpe ratio problem, since all existing tests a-priori assume the superiority of a specific solution. In contrast, our tests are only based on the Sharpe ratio itself and two basic axioms of investment theory. Hence, they are conceptually unrelated to our solutions. Eighth, we apply these tests using two different data samples to all existing solutions to the negative Sharpe ratio problem. We find that investors are best advised to use our solutions, the H⁶-, H⁷- or H⁸-measure, in their evaluation of investment performance from a Sharpe ratio like perspective.
5
Fu, Lin. "On efficacy of ethical investment : a comparative study between UK and Chinese company practices". Thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.683316.
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Nordbrandt, Anders. "ETHICAL INVESTMENTS : The cost of a clean conscience oropportunity to change the world?" Thesis, Umeå universitet, Nationalekonomi, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-156759.
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Problem background: Swedish savings in mutual funds have increased by 53 times in 30 years, to a total of 3 837 billion kronor, where of a large share is through the Swedish pension system. A growing share of this capitalis invested in socially responsible investment products, where a popular approach is to use a negative screening to exclude companies based on ethical values. Problem statement: Are there any effects in terms of risk and return when investmentsare made using a negative screening for unethical companies? Arethere any differences during turbulent market conditions? Theory: This study is using Modern Portfolio Theory, pioneered by Harry Markowitz. It will be used to optimize and identify efficient portfolio based on expected return and risk under the assumption of a risk averse investor. The key is to minimize portfolio risk through diversification with low correlated assets, for each level of return. Methodology: I have used a deductive method with a quantitative approach. Using Bootstrap, a replication procedure with replacements, 4 000 optimal portfolios have been created from underlying holdings of OMX S30 Index and its corresponding ethical index, from two sets of market volatility. Paired sample t-tests have been performed to test for hypothesis significance. Result: There is a significant difference of risk-adjusted return using negative screening, regardless of market volatility. The risk adjusted return is relatively worse for ethical investments during high market volatility. Conclusions: The reduction of asset through negative screening, is a loss of potential risk-adjusted return because of diminishing diversification opportunities. Adjustments made to optimize ethical portfolios can attain at least as high optimal return but are instead penalized witha relatively higher expected risk.
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Viviers, Suzette. "A critical assessement of socially responsible investing in South Africa". Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/637.
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This research deals with socially responsible investing (SRI) in its broadest context in South Africa and includes an analysis of the risk-adjusted performance of local SRI funds. SRI refers to an investment strategy whereby investors integrate moral as well as environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations alongside conventional financial criteria in evaluating investment opportunities. Typical SRI strategies include screening, shareholder activism and cause-based (targeted) investing. The primary objective of this research was to obtain a deeper understanding of SRI in South Africa as it represents a powerful means whereby private sector capital can be channelled into areas of national priority. Data and methodological triangulation strategies were adopted to investigate the research problem, respond to the research questions and test the research hypotheses of this study. The phenomenological component of the research consisted of an extensive literature review as well as in-depth, face-to-face interviews conducted with twelve SRI fund managers and industry experts. The positivistic dimension of this research centred on the construction of the first complete database of SRI funds in South Africa, the sourcing of quantitative primary data and the testing of eight pairs of null and alternative hypotheses. Risk-adjusted performance was evaluated by means of the Sharpe, Sortino and Upside-potential ratios during three sub-periods, namely 1 June 1992 to 31 August 1998, 1 September 1998 to 31 March 2002 and 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2006. Forty-three SRI funds have been launched in South Africa since June 1992 and it is estimated that SRIs constitute approximately 0.7 percent of the total investment capacity in the country. It was found that most local SRI funds combine a cause-based investment strategy with a positive or best-of-sector screening approach. ESG screens were found to focus on the promotion of broad-based Black Economic Empowerment and the development of social infrastructure in South Africa. The FTSE/JSE SRI Index and the Financial Sector Charter were identified as the most prominent drivers of SRI in South Africa, whereas a lack of skills and a shortage of new SRI opportunities, asset classes and funds were seen as impediments to the growth of the local SRI sector. The empirical evidence shows that: - local SRI funds underperformed relative to their respective benchmark indices during the first two sub-periods but significantly outperformed them during sub-period three (the resurgence period of SRI in South Africa); - local SRI fund performance is not significantly different from that of a matched sample of conventional (non-SRI) funds; and - local SRI funds significantly underperformed relative to the general equity market in South Africa during sub-period two (the decline period of SRI in South Africa) but performed on a par with the FTSE/JSE All Share Index during sub-periods one and two. The findings of this research therefore suggest that investors can consider SRI funds as part of a well-diversified investment strategy. It is strongly recommended that a Social Investment Forum be established in South Africa to address the educational needs of stakeholders in the local SRI sector. It is also recommended that local asset managers adopt a focused differentiation strategy to take advantage of the growing SRI sector in South Africa.
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Rocchia, Bénédicte y Léo Béchet. "Sustainable Investment performance: investor's ethical dilemma : A comparative study of the US, UK and Eurozone sustainable and conventional indices". Thesis, Umeå universitet, Handelshögskolan vid Umeå universitet, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-45016.
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Habtegabir, Eden y Ann-Sophie Lindström. "Etiska fonder - ett etiskt dilemma?" Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Företagsekonomiska institutionen, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-87740.
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Idag föreligger ett stort intresse för att placera i etiska fonder, men det råder delade meningar om vad en etisk fond innebär. Det finns ingen universell applicerbar kod utan det är upp till fondbolagen själva att definiera vad som är etiskt för dem. Det är således svårt att fastställa något entydigt begrepp för vad som kan anses vara etiskt eller inte då begreppet etik är såväl subjektivt och relativt samt varierar över tiden. Allt oftare uppdagas hur företag världen över kopplas till svåra missförhållanden eller är inblandade i oetiska verksamheter. Flera av dessa företag ägs indirekt av oss konsumenter genom våra pensionsmedel och privat sparande i fonder. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka vad som menas med etisk fond. Uppsatsen kommer att genomföras utifrån en kvalitativ ansats med intervjuer av utvalda fondbolag på den svenska fondmarknaden. En ökad transparens är önskvärt för att se hur fondbolagen arbetar. Sammanfattningsvis har konsumenterna ett relativt stort ansvar att undersöka vad som faktiskt gömmer sig bakom respektive fondnamn om de vill ha kontroll över sina sparpengar.
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Mulindi, Belinda Ong'asia. "An understanding of corporate social investment within the Kenya Pipeline Company and how it can be used to promote development". Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020043.
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Development and all issues that pertain to it, has been a hot topic since the turn of the century. Governments have set up programs and agendas that they would like to follow to implement development in areas such as social, education, health and environment. Traditionally developing of communities has always been a government’s mandate. Corporate society established that to live in harmony with its neighbours, it was better to plough back into the community. That said it was paramount to see how the both development and CSI/R can be intertwined reasons behind this qualitative research were to establish if the Kenya Pipeline Company CSI initiatives can be used to promote development. The research methodology used was interviews, distribution of questionnaire and document review. These methods were settled on since they allowed the researcher to gain more knowledge and a greater understanding of the data collected and in it’s the natural setting. Kenya Pipeline Company’s CSI/R policy is not quite in place and development could be pegged to the ethnic group or geographical region that the Managing Director comes from. Stakeholders do not quite contribute and are seldom involved in the decision making process. The first benefactors are the communities that fall by the way- leave of the pipeline moving out. A conclusive policy document needs to be put in place to curb the powers given to a single individual and to be able to involve the various stakeholders so as to ensure sustainable development initiatives.
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Ho, Ching-ching Mary y 何晶晶. "Socially responsible investment indices in Asian markets : merging stakeholder theories with social construction for improved index construction methodology". Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/193511.
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The growth of the managed investment industry brings with it the potential for institutional investors to exert their influence on boards of listed companies to deliver strong and sustainable growth. The concepts of socially responsible investment (SRI), responsible investment (RI) or ethical investment (EI) have become part of mainstream investment practices in many financial markets. While SRI is largely a qualitative concept, its survival and adoption by the mainstream investment community may, in part, be due to the formalising of its concepts into language that investors, asset managers and analysts can more readily understand: the benchmark index.
SRI indices may hold the key to attracting attention to ESG issues in listed corporates and to help bring about positive outcomes in sustainable development. Figures show SRI investments in emerging markets are minimal when compared to those in developed markets but emerging markets hold great potential for growth and development of these tools.
This research develops a tool for bringing together social construction theory and stakeholder theory in understanding the construction of SRI Indices and in development of new indices.
The core of this research is an analysis of SRI indices in three major emerging markets of Hong Kong, India and China, together with an analysis of different perspectives of SRI in Asia. The purpose is to identify opportunities to building SRI indices through a stakeholder engagement approach.
The research was conducted over several phases between October 2008 and August 2010 and can be defined by three different studies:
1. a comparative study on SRI indices and their ESG criteria;
2. a comparative study on SRI indices and their stakeholder engagement approach; and
3. an analysis on the feasibility of building SRI indices in Asian markets.
The findings from the three studies indicate three main arguments. First, ESG assessment and criteria of SRI indices does have an impact on the creditability and value of the SRI indices. Due to the lack of transparency on the ESG assessment and criteria, SRI investors and other stakeholder groups are deterred from adopting SRI indices as SRI tool.
Second, stakeholder engagement is essential for SRI indices. And lastly, SRI indices in emerging markets, especially in the three studied markets, are attractive to both global and local SRI investors; however, these SRI indices need to include local ESG contexts to reflect the actual ESG concerns of the societies and avoid blindly following developed markets’ SRI index model, which in the end become unrealistic and unpopular to investors and stakeholder groups.
We recommend that stakeholder engagement in index criteria and corporate assessment be widened and deepened; that governments and stock exchanges can play a pivotal role in SRI development and should take the lead. We also recommend that SRI indices strengthen the institution of corporate research to rely less on secondary data when making their corporate assessments.published_or_final_version
Kadoorie Institute
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy
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Cummine, Angela. "A citizen's stake in Sovereign Wealth Funds : the management, investment and distribution of sovereign wealth". Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:5c3b8fa7-768e-445f-b4f1-54297dca9582.
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Over the past five years, Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have become a prominent phenomenon in contemporary capitalism. Described as government investment vehicles that invest state wealth in financial markets, the majority of the world's 60-plus funds have been established since the year 2000. Despite extensive treatments of SWFs' geopolitical and international significance, ethical and domestic level analyses are sparse. In response, this thesis interrogates three key normative questions raised by the funds for the domestic citizen-state relationship: (1) How (and by whom) should sovereign funds be managed? (2) How should sovereign wealth be invested? (3) How should the earnings of sovereign fund investment be distributed? In answering these questions, this thesis aims to dispel ambiguity over the ownership status of sovereign funds, evident in popular and academic discourse and within communities that establish these entities. For this task, it draws on recently revived fiduciary theory of the citizen-state relationship to argue that the rightful owner of these funds is the citizenry - not states or governments who enjoy physical and legal possession of SWFs. It goes on to examine the implications of this fiduciary state conception of SWF ownership, asking how citizen-owners should enjoy control over and benefit from the distinct constituent parts of their SWF property: the institution of the fund, the underlying sovereign wealth and the financial returns earned on the investment of its assets. The model of citizen ownership defended demands substantially increased popular control over SWF management and the investment of sovereign wealth, as well as direct benefit rights for citizen-owners to fund income through individualised distribution of investment returns. Examination of existing practice among SWFs demonstrates that this normative ideal is far, although not impossibly distant from current institutional practice.
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Cronin, John Daniel. "From ethical investment to investment ethics: Towards a normative theory of investment ethics". Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2004. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/15979/1/John_Cronin_Thesis.pdf.
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This study explores the contemporary practice of Ethical and Socially Responsible Investment and concludes that it is based on an ad hoc construct of empirically derived principles, driven mainly by the commercial self-interest of large financial institutions and fund managers. It explores the relationship between investment and morality, to posit a background theory of investment ethics. The study then proposes
a move away from the narrow focus of ethical investment to a broader concern for investment ethics. The study introduces the discipline of investment ethics and examines the criteria that form the basis of morality in investment decisions. The resultant theory is intended to be of practical significance in the business and
investment domains and to assist potential investors to evaluate investment opportunities in the context of a consistent set of substantive normative ethical principles.
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Cronin, John Daniel. "From ethical investment to investment ethics: Towards a normative theory of investment ethics". Queensland University of Technology, 2004. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/15979/.
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This study explores the contemporary practice of Ethical and Socially Responsible Investment and concludes that it is based on an ad hoc construct of empirically derived principles, driven mainly by the commercial self-interest of large financial institutions and fund managers. It explores the relationship between investment and morality, to posit a background theory of investment ethics. The study then proposes a move away from the narrow focus of ethical investment to a broader concern for investment ethics. The study introduces the discipline of investment ethics and examines the criteria that form the basis of morality in investment decisions. The resultant theory is intended to be of practical significance in the business and investment domains and to assist potential investors to evaluate investment opportunities in the context of a consistent set of substantive normative ethical principles.
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Zaulochnaya, Ya-Brouwer Irina. "The praxis of responsible investment in South Africa: a holistic case study of Evolution One Fund". Thesis, Rhodes University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003899.
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At the beginning of the 21st century the public interest in environmental and social sustainability, and corporate governance grew exponentially fuelled by recurring ecological and financial crises. The market demand for cleaner production and corporate transparency created opportunities for sustainability entrepreneurs in a variety of industries, including financial markets and investment management. An increasing number of financial institutions across the world now offer ethical or socially responsible products to meet the environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspirations of their clients. In the US, according to the Social Investment Forum (SIF), responsible investment (RI) assets reached US$ 2,29 trillion in 2007 (Mitchell, 2008). The European Sustainable Investment Forum (EuroSIF) estimated that total European SRI assets reached EUR 5 trillion in 2009 (Wheelan, 2010). In June 2011 the International Finance Corporation (IFC) reported that at the end of 2010 professional sustainable investment under management in South Africa approximately equalled US$ 122,6 billion (IFC, 2011:44). The statistics describing the rapid growth in the ESG-type investments are, however, complicated by the variety of names and definitions used to describe this emerging type of investment and a general market uncertainty about what constitutes the practice of RI. The purpose of this case study is to better understand responsible investment principles and practice as seen through the eyes of a South African private equity fund, which specializes in clean technology.
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Rampersad, Renitha. "Significance of corporate social investment within the field of public relations with specific reference to selected Kwazulu Natal corporations". Thesis, Port Elizabeth Technikon, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/35.
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This study is a qualitative investigation into the areas of corporate social investment and public relations. The study examines the significance of corporate social investment within the field of public relations with specific reference to selected KwaZulu Natal corporations. The study looks at the corporate social investment and public relations departments of five corporations in the KwaZulu Natal region. The corporations that were interviewed were selected based on their location, and the number of years of experience in the field. The five companies, namely, The South African Sugar Association, NBS Boland Bank, Hillside Aluminium (Alusaf), McCarthy Retail and Richards Bay Minerals received immense coverage on their corporate social investment initiatives, in the Mail and Guardian’s April 1998 issue, ‘Investing in the future, special focus on social investment.’ The report presents an in-depth literature review, which examines the history of both corporate social investment and public relations. It thereafter examines the current practices of public relations and corporate social investment from a South African perspective. The prevalent approach to corporate social investment is also addressed. Apart from the study of the five corporations, the report also comments on other dedicated corporate social investment programmes. The programmes of each of the five companies are contrasted with current and relevant documentation from the 1999 Business and Marketing Intelligence report. Graphs and tables complement this information. The findings reveal that there is little public relations involvement in corporate social investment initiatives because corporate social investment practitioners do not see the need for the involvement of public relations practitioners in all areas of their corporate social investment initiatives. The results of the interviews gives the reader a broad perspective of corporate social investment and public relations within each company. The findings suggest that the role of public relations needs to be re-examined in the new millennium.
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Colliander, Samuelsson David y Henrik Ivarsson. "Privatpersoners finansiella risktolerans vid aktieinvestering : En studie om vilka aspekter som påverkar". Thesis, Högskolan i Skövde, Institutionen för handel och företagande, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-13957.
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The economic development in Sweden in recent years has led to increased financial savings in Swedish households. Financial savings have mostly increased on bank accounts with low interest rates, since private individuals generally have a more cautious position on stocks and stock trading. The reason for this passive position is believed to be due to the fact that decisions that benefit most economically often challenge the feeling of being in control. At the same time, cautious position that a particular individual possess is affected by the risk-tolerance. As a consequence, the risk tolerance of private individuals affects the investment decision and hence the development of the stock market. Savings and investment are two important factors that affect a nation's economic growth, which makes it important to study underlying factors to what affects an individual when making a financial decision. When talking about risk tolerance in everyday life, previous research has revealed that there are four different aspects that affect this complex concept, namely the economic aspect, physical aspect, social aspect and ethical aspect. As investment decisions are affected by financial risk tolerance and the four aspects in turn, affect risk tolerance, the issue becomes how these aspects affect a private investor's financial risk tolerance when investing in stocks. The purpose of this study has been to explain the four aspects of a person’s risk tolerance when investing in stocks. The study has been conducted using a quantitative method and deductive approach. The selection group that the study turned to is Swedish stock investors and the data collection has been done by a survey that was answered by 232 people. The underlying factors for the four aspects tested in the study are income, gender, age, education, marital status and ethical character. The study shows that all four aspects together have a combined impact on private individuals' financial risk tolerance. The study has also shown that all the four aspects, each one separately, are linked to financial risk tolerance, by the underlying factors, income level, gender, marital status and ethical character.De senaste årens ekonomiska utveckling i Sverige har lett till ett ökat finansiellt sparande i de svenska hushållen. Detta sparande har mestadels ökat på bankkonton med låga räntor då privatpersoner i allmänhet har ett mer försiktigt ställningstagande till aktie och börshandel. Anledningen till detta passiva ställningstagande tros bero på att beslut som gynnar mest ekonomiskt ofta utmanar känslan av att ha kontroll. Samtidigt påverkas ställningstagandet av den risktoleransnivå som en viss individ besitter. Följden av detta blir att privatpersoners risktolerans påverkar investeringsbeslutet och därmed även utvecklingen av aktiemarknaden. Sparande och investering är två viktiga faktorer som påverkar en nations ekonomiska tillväxt vilket gör det viktigt att studera bakomliggande faktorer till vad som påverkar en privatperson när ett finansiellt beslut ska tas. När det pratas om risktolerans i vardagslivet har tidigare forskning delgett att det finns fyra olika aspekter som påverkar detta komplexa begrepp, nämligen den ekonomiska aspekten, fysiska aspekten, sociala aspekten och etiska aspekten. Då investeringsbeslut påverkas av den finansiella risktoleransen och risktoleransen i sin tur påverkas av de fyra aspekterna blir problemfrågan hur dessa aspekter påverkar en privatpersons finansiella risktolerans vid investering i aktier. Syftet med denna studie har varit att förklara de fyra aspekterna för privatpersoners finansiella risktolerans vid aktieinvestering. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av en kvantitativ metod och deduktiv ansats. Den urvalsgrupp som studien vänt sig till är svenska aktieinvesterare och datainsamlingen har gjorts med hjälp av en enkätundersökning som besvarats av 232 personer. De bakomliggande faktorerna för de fyra aspekterna som har testats i studien är inkomst, kön, ålder, utbildning, civilstånd och etisk karaktär. Studien visar att alla fyra aspekter tillsammans har sammantagen påverkan på privatpersoners finansiella risktolerans. Studien har även visat att alla de fyra aspekterna har en koppling till den finansiella risktoleransen, var och en för sig, genom de underliggande faktorerna inkomstnivå, kön, civilstånd och etisk karaktär.
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Petersson, Frida. "Sustainable investments : Transparency regulation as a tool to influence investors to choose sustainable investment funds". Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Filosofiska fakulteten, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-156659.
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In March 2018 the European Commission published the Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth. One of the main objectives with the actions presented in the action plan is to reorient capital flows towards sustainable investments, i.e. to influence more investors to invest sustainably. The action plan was followed by three proposals for transparency regulation regarding an EU taxonomy on sustainability, sustainability benchmarks and sustainability disclosures. Furthermore, the action plan included actions regarding two other transparency measures – sustainability labels and sustainability ratings. The first purpose of the thesis is to investigate if transparency regulation in the EU can be used as a tool to influence investors to choose sustainable investment funds. One of the main aims of the actions presented in the Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth, as well as the accompanying regulation proposals, is to reorient capital flows towards sustainable investments, i.e. to influence more investors to invest sustainably. In light of this, the Commission’s three proposed transparency regulations, as well as the concept of sustainability labels and ratings, are used as a basis for the investigation. The second purpose of the thesis is therefore to critically review the three regulation proposals and the concept of sustainability labels and ratings in order to gain an understanding of how different transparency measures can influence investors to choose sustainable investment funds. The transparency regulations and measures are analysed and critically reviewed in light of their objective to influence more investors to invest sustainably. A behavioural economics perspective, as well as consumer behaviour theories and decision-making models, are applied in order to analyse the transparency regulations and measures from an external perspective. Based on the analysis there are many indicators that transparency regulation can be used as a tool to influence investors to choose sustainable investment funds. However, to what extent transparency regulation can influence investor behaviour varies depending on which transparency measures are used and how they are designed. Sustainability benchmarks seem to have the least potential to influence investor behaviour, while the EU taxonomy on sustainability and sustainability labels seem to have the best potential to influence investor behaviour.
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Janz, Nicole. "The impact of foreign direct investment on human rights and labour standards : an industry sector approach". Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2015. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.708829.
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Tetyana, Sakhiwo. "A study of the corporate social investment distribution and spending by selected corporates in the Eastern Cape". Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020423.
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Corporate Social Investment (CSI) presents a platform for the business sector in South Africa to respond to challenges facing the Eastern Cape. Challenges facing this province are well documented, and it is important to measure and quantify how the business sector in South Africa currently contributes towards addressing those challenges. The Eastern Cape remains by and large undeveloped, with economic activity well below economic potential. Currently, economic activity is concentrated in Port Elizabeth, East London and Mthatha. Notwithstanding economic growth, high levels of unemployment and poverty persist, particularly in the rural areas where two-thirds of the population reside. The research study purposely sampled the top 30 companies from the top 100 listed in Trialogue. A total of 14 questionnaires were completed and returned by respondents. Five CSI managers were randomly selected from the 30 companies for in-depth interviews. The purpose of this exercise was to solicit further views to enable substantive triangulation of data from other sources. The research reveals that corporate groups in South Africa use different but complementary models and strategies in contributing towards poverty reduction. Education, particularly support for secondary school technology and science tuition, and also early childhood development (ECD), constitute key intervention areas by corporations in the Eastern Cape. This is closely followed by economic inclusion or enterprise development. There is no demonstrable evidence that corporate social investment in South Africa is informed by a coherent theoretical framework. The study revealed that education receives the largest share of CSI budgets in the Eastern Cape. Within education, mathematics and science is the most supported sub-programme focus area. This is followed by higher education which is also a preferred sub-programme focus area. A total of 40 percent of CSI spending has been channeled towards rural areas and towns in the former Transkei area. The ‘Mandela factor’ also plays an influential role in thedistribution of CSI spending, especially in the rural areas of the former Transkei. Donations ‘in kind’ are mostly distributed in urban areas.
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Rezec, Michael. "Alternative approaches in ESG investing : four essays on investment performance & risk". Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/8127.
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ESG (Environmental, social, and governance) investing is an investment philosophy to inform holistic and sound decision-making of investors for the purposes of both, nourishing a stable economy with acceptable rates of return while at the same time addressing stakeholders' non-financial concerns to preserve an inhabitable planet. Some scholars in finance argue that institutions subject to norms, i.e. responsible investors pay a financial cost from engaging in ESG activities. Moreover, they see ESG investing as distracting, inappropriate, risky and legally challenging. In response, several studies have emerged to show that ESG investing is a growing interest with investors, helps to mitigate financial risks, and does not need to represent a financial cost. Despite convincing evidence in a growing body of academic literature, many questions are still open to debate. Therefore, the principal objective of this thesis is to explore three dimensions of ESG investing, namely corporate environmental responsibility, renewable energy, and ESG disclosure quality. The research questions address issues relating to pension funds' investment decisions and legal obstacles resulting from utilising ESG information, financial return and risk implications of investing in renewable energy, substitutability of renewable energy for fossil fuel investments, and the effects of ESG disclosure quality on the expected cost of capital. To answer these questions, the thesis employs several standard and alternative empirical methods from the asset pricing and risk literatures. The thesis concludes the following. First, the integration of environmental responsibility into pension fund investment decision-making processes does not impede the financial and risk performance of pension funds. This means that pension funds should be allowed to consider such information in their investment decision making processes as the information does not reduce the overall financial return of the tested portfolios and does not violate trust law, i.e. the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Pension fund trustees have been prohibited to consider any non-financial criteria such as environmental, social, or governance criteria in their investment processes under trust law such as ERISA, when they could harm the finanical performance of the portfolio. To be more specific, a pension fund trustee breaches his fiduciary duties (the duty of loyalty and the duty of prudence), if he sacrifices the financial well-being of the pension fund for pursuing any other social goal (Langbein and Posner, 1980). In particular, the duty of loyalty is "... forbidding the trustee to invest for any object other than the highest return consistent with the preferred level of portfolio risk" (Langbein and Posner, 1980:98). Second, the thesis finds no evidence for sustained renewable energy equity premia. Furthermore, investments in renewable energy equity are considerably riskier than in fossil fuel energy equity, meaning that renewable energy firms are undergoing a period of high uncertainties related to their business model, low carbon prices, and lacking public and private infrastructure investment (Bohl et al., 2013; Kumar et al., 2012; Sadorsky, 2012b ). Finally, my thesis shows that companies with high ESG disclosure quality experience lower expected cost of equity and cost of debt financing, everything else equal.
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Egan, Paul. "An investigation into corporate social investment practices and policies within the South African insurance sector". Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/50267.
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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2005.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This is an exploratory study that examines how companies within the South Africa insurance sector approach the area of Corporate Social Investment (CSI). South Africa is burdened with a number of pressing social problems- such as unemployment. HIV/AIDS and crime - and in many respects the insurance industry is on the front-line; as these problems have a direct impact on their core business. The primary research, upon which the findings are based, consist of ten qualitative interviews with individuals who were either responsible for CSI within their organisation or were involved in the decision-making process. Its main aim is to understand the motivations and drivers that underpin corporate giving programmes. In particular, the study focuses on how social investment is managed within the context of a society that is undergoing social transformation. It also touches on the question of self-interest and how this impacts on giving programmes. Notably. the study observed a major shift in how companies set-about their social investments post-1994. These include a more business-like approach in which corporations were managing CSI, a move away from utilizing CSI as a marketing tool, and integrating CSI with other aspects of corporate social responsibility. The research also identified a change in the rationale and philosophies underpinning involvement in CSI. Coupled with this is added external pressure from government and investors, as well as self-imposed drivers arising out of the Financial Sector Charter.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie is 'n ondersoekende studie wat fokus op die benadering van die Suid Afrikaanse versekerings sektor tot die area van Korporatiewe Sosiale Beleggings (KSB). Suid Afrika word geteister deur 'n aantal drukkende sosiale probleme - soos werkloosheid, MIV/VIGS en misdaad - en in baie gevalle is die versekeringsektor in die voorste linie deurdat hierdie kwessies direk impak maak op hul kern besigheid. Die primere navorsing in hierdie verslag is gegrond op tien kwalitatiewe onderhoude met individue wat verantwoordelikheid dra vir KSB binne hul organisasies, of ten minste betrokke is by besluitneming daarrondom. Die hoof doelstelling is om die motivering en drywers te verstaan wat KSB onderspan. In besonder kyk die studie na die bestuur van KSB binne die konteks van 'n samelewing wat sosiale transformasie ondergaan. Die studie raak ook die vraag aan van self-belang en hoe dit impak maak op skenkingsprogramme. Dit is nodig om te let op die punt dat daar 'n groot skuif was in die manier wat maatskappye KSB benader post 1994. Dit sluit 'n sterker besigheidsbenadering in, 'n beweging weg van KSB as 'n bemarkings-instrument, asook die integrasie van KSB met ander aspekte van korporatiewe sosiale verantwoordelikheid. Die studie het ook veranderinge identifiseer in die redes en filosofiee wat dien as grondslag vir KSB. Ook verwant aan dit is die addisionele druk van regering en beleggers, asook die self-opgelegde drywers wat voortspruit uit die Finansiele Sektor Handves.
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Block, MÃnica Dourado Furtado. "CaracterizaÃÃo discursiva da Bossa Nova no discurso literomusical brasileiro". Universidade Federal do CearÃ, 2007. http://www.teses.ufc.br/tde_busca/arquivo.php?codArquivo=2453.
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Nesta pesquisa; investigamos as principais caracterÃsticas discursivas do Movimento Bossa Nova; no discurso literomusical brasileiro; nas composiÃÃes de JoÃo Gilberto; AntÃnio Carlos Jobim; VinÃcius de Moraes; Roberto Menescal; Carlos Lyra; Ronaldo BÃscoli e Newton MendonÃa; Nosso suporte teÃrico à o da AnÃlise de Discurso de linha francesa; conforme delineada por Dominique Maingueneau (1997; 2001b); SÃo conceitos centrais neste trabalho; posicionamento e investimentos cenogrÃfico; Ãtico e lingÃÃstico (MAINGUENEAU; 2001b); Para efetuar nossa tarefa; cumprimos sete etapas; 1 Mostramos quais foram os precursores e as influÃncias recebidas pela Bossa Nova; 2 Historiamos o movimento; 3 Nomeamos os representantes principais com o seu legado para a mÃsica brasileira; 4 Fizemos a descriÃÃo da concepÃÃo musical da Bossa Nova nos planos verbal e musical; 5 Descrevemos as caracterÃsticas do Movimento; 6 Demonstramos como era o mercado fonogrÃfico na Ãpoca e os momentos decisivos da Bossa Nova; e 7 Finalizamos com a anÃlise das canÃÃes; Estudando os corpus; verificamos os investimentos cenogrÃficos; ambientes abertos; como a natureza; o mar; a praia; ou fechados; como dentro de um apartamento; de um aviÃo ou de um bar etc; em relaÃÃo aos investimentos Ãticos; encontramos ethà de sujeitos lÃricos; enamorados; saudosos; tristes e sensÃveis etc; quanto ao cÃdigo lingÃÃstico; identificamos exemplos de plurilingÃismo interno e externo; e; no concernente à escolha de vocabulÃrio; o uso de linguagem coloquial; incluindo gÃrias daquele tempo; hà metÃforas; repetiÃÃes; comparaÃÃes; paranomÃsia; jogos de palavras; citaÃÃes; bem como diÃlogos com o candomblà e a umbanda; com a poesia concreta; dentre outros;In this research; we investigate the main discursive characteristics of the Movement called Bossa Nova in the Brazilian Popular Music discourse in the music of JoÃo Gilberto; AntÃnio Carlos Jobim; VinÃcius de Moraes; Roberto Menescal; Carlos Lyra; Ronaldo BÃscoli and Newton MendonÃa; Our theoretical support is the one of the French Discourse Analysis, as delineated by Dominique Maingueneau (1997;2001b); Central concepts in this work are: discursive position and scenographic; ethical and linguistic investments (MAINGUENEAU; 2001b); To accomplish our task; we followed seven steps: 1; We showed who the predecessors were and the influence received by Bossa Nova; 2; We told the movement history; 3; We identified the principal representatives and their legacy to the Brazilian music; 4; We made the description of the musical notion of Bossa Nova concerning the verbal and musical plan; 5; We described the characteristics of the movement; 6; We demonstrated how the phonographic market was at the time and the decisive moments of Bossa nova; and 7; We ended up by analysing the songs; As we studied the corpus; we verified the scenographic investments: open spaces such as the nature; the sea; the beach; or closed ones such as inside an apartment; a plane or a bar; etc; in relation to the ethical investments: we found lyric; passionate; nostalgic; sad and sensitive individuals; as for the language code; we identified examples of internal and external plurilinguism; concerning the choice of vocabulary: the use of colloquial language; including slang of that epoch; metaphors; repetitions; comparisons; paranomasia; puns or play on words; citations; etc; and the dialogues with some Afro-Brazilian religions and concrete party; and so forth;
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Farahzadi, Nicki. "CSR inom banksektorn : En studie om konsumenternas uppfattning kring bankernas CSR-arbete". Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Företagsekonomi, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-38473.
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Syfte: Syftet med studien är att, genom ett konsumentperspektiv, undersöka värderingar och åsikter rörande etiska och miljömässiga aspekter inom bankernas CSR-arbete. Forskningsfråga: Vilken betydelse har bankernas CSR-arbete för kunderna? Delfrågor: Hur väsentligt för bankkunder är etiska aspekter inom fondinvestering? Hur avgörande för bankkunder är miljömässiga aspekter inom fondinvestering? Teori: Följande teorier behandlar och relaterar till CSR, CSR-definition, Legitimitetsteori, Intressentteori, Teori om Planerad Beteende och Behavioural Finance Metod: En kombination av kvantitativ och kvalitativa metod tillämpas för denna studie. Studiens metod är baserad på den kvalitativa forskningsmetoden med en fenomenografisk forskningsansats i form av semistrukturerad gruppintervju. Studien kompletteras även med en kvantitativ metod i form av enkätundersökning. Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att CSR-arbeten värderas som mer betydelsefullt och väsentligt för kunderna, dock existerar en kommunikationsbrist mellan bankerna och deras kunder. Etiska aspekter är uppenbarligen en faktor som kunden värdesätter högt och på en personlig nivå. Studiens resultat visar att etiska aspekter har en avgörande roll vid val av investering i fond. I studiens resultat framgår det tydligt att miljömässiga aspekter värderas till viss del när kunder utser val av fond. Utifrån enkätundersökningen och studiens intervju visas en skillnad i värdesättning mellan etiska och miljömässiga aspekter, där etiska aspekter värdesätts mer än de miljömässiga.
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Mill, Greig Andrew. "The performance of UK ethical investment funds". Thesis, De Montfort University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/4113.
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Blad, Tobias y Kristian Nilsson. "Är etiska fondinvesteringar försvarbara : vad kostar etik?" Thesis, Högskolan Kristianstad, Sektionen för hälsa och samhälle, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hkr:diva-10999.
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Recently, the selections of ethical funds are increased; at the same time investors with social and moral preferences have increased in the capital market. There are currently debates on whether ethical funds perform better or worse than funds without ethical criteria. This also involves a vivid discussion on whether investors know about the consequences of investing in ethical funds. Therefore, this study involves theories about the rationality and decision theory, in addition to what mainly control the investment decisions. The study also discusses portfolio theory since this is one of the underlying theories behind fund management and its development. The purpose of this study is to explain if ethical limitations in the selection of securities affect risk and return in the fund portfolio. This study has positivistic research approach and a quantitative method. The method involves some calculations and equations used that will be presented. The study indicates that ethical funds actually deliver better risk adjusted returns than its Swedish benchmark index. It also indicates a trend that ethical funds deliver better excess returns than funds without ethical preferences. Furthermore, the study concludes that no statistical difference between the ethical funds and the benchmark in terms of risk in investment can be demonstrated. One limitation of the study is that the survey mainly includes the Swedish market with Swedish company stakeholders. This means that there may be a need for research in a global market where also cultural aspects need to be considered. It has not previously been quite clear how ethical fund performance in the Swedish market, and at a time when demand for ethical choice increases, the goal of this study was to clarify the performance of ethical funds.På senare tid har urvalet av etiska fonder ökat, samtidigt som investerare med sociala och moraliska preferenser har blivit allt vanligare på kapitalmarknaden. Det finns idag diskussioner om huruvida etiska fonder presterar bättre eller sämre än fonder utan de etiska kriterierna. Detta innefattar också en livlig diskussion om huruvida investerare är medvetna om konsekvenserna av att investera i etiska fonder. Därför berör studien teorierna kring den rationella- och beslutsteorin, för vilka huvudsakligen styr investeringsbesluten. Studien behandlar också portföljvalsteori då detta är en av de bakomliggande teorierna för fondförvaltning och dess uppkomst. Syftet med denna studie är förklara om de etiska begränsningar i urvalet av värdepapper påverkar risk och avkastning i fondportföljen. I studien kommer en positivistisk forskningssats användas samt en kvantitativ metod. Metoden innefattar en del beräkningar och ekvationer som används och som presenteras. Studien pekar på att de etiska fonderna faktiskt levererar en bättre riskjusterad excessavkastning än sitt jämförelseindex på den svenska marknaden. Den visar också tendenser att de etiska fonderna levererar en bättre excessavkastning än de fonderna utan etiska preferenser. Vidare kommer studien fram till att det inte kan påvisas någon statistisk skillnad mellan de etiska fonderna och jämförelseindexet vad det gäller risken i investeringar. En begränsning med studien är att undersökningen huvudsakligen innefattar den svenska marknaden med svenska företagsaktörer. Detta gör att det kan finns behov av forskning på en global marknad där även de kulturella aspekterna behöver bejakas. Eftersom det tidigare har varit ganska oklart vad det gäller etiska fondernas prestanda på den svenska marknaden, och i en tid då efterfrågan på etiska urvalet ökar, är målet med denna studie att bringa klarhet om etiska fonders prestation.
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Thulin, Johanna y Mirjana Mimmi Gogoska. "Utvecklingen av etiska fonder : Från etik till hållbarhet". Thesis, Högskolan i Borås, Akademin för textil, teknik och ekonomi, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-554.
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Hållbarhet och etik är ett högst aktuellt ämne i dagens samhälle som även påverkar den finansiella sektorn. Ämnen som CSR och hållbarhetsfrågor har tidigare haft fokus på företagsvärlden men under de senaste åren har även finansvärlden uppmärksammat ämnet, i och med uppkomsten av sociala och etiska investeringar.Tidigare forskning inom området etiska fonder har framförallt handlat om avkastningen och urvalsprocessen av bolag, få studier har gjorts av fondernas etiska prestanda. Den här studien syftar till att fördjupa diskussionen kring de etiska fonderna. Detta görs genom att studera hur fondbolagen bedriver urvalsprocessen och förvaltningen av dessa fonder.I studien används en abduktiv ansats. Det har inneburit att vi har fått komplettera den ursprungliga teoridelen utifrån de svar vi fick under den empiriska insamlingen. Studien är kvalitativ och empirin samlades in genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Vi valde att kontakta de fyra storbankernas fondbolag, två AP-fonder samt ytterligare ett fondbolag. Respondenterna som intervjuades bestod av fondförvaltare eller specialister inom hållbarhetsområdet.Resultatet av studien visar att benämningen etiska fonder är på väg bort. Branschen vill inte definiera etik istället talar man om efterträdarna, hållbara och ansvarsfulla fonder. Trots förnekelsen av etiska fonder används en liknande urvalprocess för de hållbara fonderna, därmed kvarstår den problematiken som funnits för de etiska fonderna. Den stora skillnaden idag är att fondbolagen vill agera hållbart och ansvarsfullt på alla plan, både gällande sociala- och miljömässiga aspekter.Studies resultat skiljer sig från tidigare forskning genom att den fokuserar på den etiska prestandan. Undersökningen konstaterar att etikfonderna håller på att försvinna, men ur dem har hållbara fonder fötts. Den här studien har gett ökad kunskap inom ett område som är relativt outforskat. Studien kan därför lämpligtvis användas för framtida forskning.Sustainability and ethics are discussed all over the world. Subjects as CSR and sustainability related questions were earlier only highlighted by companies. Nowadays even the financial industry has started to focus on those questions, with the emergence of social and ethical investments.Previous research have focused on return or the selection process, very few have studied the ethical performance. This study aims to deepen the discussion about ethical funds. This is done by studying how the fund companies conduct the management of ethical funds.This study is using an abductive approach, which means that we have completed the original theory with more theory after we had done the research on the field. We have used a qualitative method and collected the empirical data by semi-structured interviews. The four largest banks fund companies of Sweden, two pension funds and one additional fund company were interviewed. The respondents were either fund managers or specialists in the area of sustainability.The results of the study show that the term ethical fund is slowly disappearing. No one of the respondents were willing to define ethics, they would rather discuss the successors sustainable- and responsible funds. Despite the denial of ethical funds, similar selection processes for sustainable funds are used as for ethical funds. The problems that have existed for the ethical funds are moving to the sustainable funds. The big difference today is that fund companies have a vision of acting responsible and sustainable at all levels, both in terms of social and environmental aspects.The results differ from previous research, since it focuses on the ethical performance. The study finds that ethical funds are disappearing as time goes by, but out of them have sustainable funds developed. This research has provided increased knowledge in an area that is relatively unexplored. The study can therefore be suitable for future research.
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Halton, Laura. "A preliminary investigation into the performance of ethical investment funds". Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9486.
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Bibliography: leaves 107-116.A common argument against ethical investment is that it earns lower returns than conventional portfolios and is thus contrary to the fiduciary responsibility of fund trustees. The theoretical base for this assertion is that ethical investment reduces the investment universe. Little, if any, importance has been attached to the financial performance of socially responsible firms, and whether superior performance negates the reduction in investment possibilities. This study shows that ethical funds do not necessarily underperform, and in fact, in many cases have outperformed similar conventional funds. The criteria applied by these funds are examined and some economic justifications for the success of such funds are suggested. Successful funds could form the basis for RDP targetted investments in South Africa.
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Mackenzie, Craig. "Ethical investment and the challenge of corporate reform : a critical assessment of the procedures and purposes of UK ethical unit trusts". Thesis, University of Bath, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.362304.
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Asplund, Therese. "How Socially Responsible Investment Is Defined : An analysis of how SRI investment management firms put ethical criteria into practice". Thesis, Linköping University, Linköping University, Department of Water and Environmental Studies, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-9575.
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Several organisations have called for clarifications on sustainable investment. The aim of this study is to map and compare the ethical criteria used by Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) funds in their assessment of companies. My attention is also to seek for clarifications on the definition on SRI. A theoretical framework has been used to identify core issues of socially responsible investment. The areas of interest are charitable giving, environmental technologies, negative and positive screening and shareholder activism. The empirical material consisted of qualitative interviews with 4 fund managers from 5 investment management firms in addition to written documents on the funds’ ethical criteria. The conclusions are that all of the funds use negative criteria in their assessment of companies, with similarities in what may be considered as unethical activity and differences in the extent. Most of the funds also seek to identify better-managed companies through an assessment of how companies comply with international agreements. Differences occur in the choices of international agreements as well as the minimum criteria for investing. Most of the investment management firms engage in shareholder activism with the aim to influence the companies’ corporate behaviour, thus with different levels of engagement. Some have dialogue with whom they invest in, some favour the idea of communicate with companies they do not invest in as well. Furthermore, the results of this study show that investments in environmental technologies are rare since these companies are too small. When it comes to charitable giving, donations to charity may be seen as SRI or may not be seen as SRI depending on if the concept refers to investment criteria.
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Woodward, Marie-Therese. "The ethical dimension to the financial investment decision : the development and testing of a theoretical model". Thesis, University of the West of England, Bristol, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.322495.
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Sandberg, Joakim. "The ethics of investing : Making money or making difference? /". Göteborg : Univ. of Gothenburg, 2008. http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/fy0805/2008422806.html.
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Block, Mônica Dourado Furtado. "Caracterização discursiva da Bossa Nova no discurso literomusical brasileiro". http://www.teses.ufc.br, 2007. http://www.repositorio.ufc.br/handle/riufc/6129.
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BLOCK, Mônica Dourado Furtado. Caracterização discursiva da Bossa Nova no discurso literomusical brasileiro. 2007. 134 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Linguistica) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Letras Vernáculas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística, Fortaleza-CE, 2007.Submitted by Liliane oliveira (morena.liliane@hotmail.com) on 2012-08-24T12:39:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2007_DIS_MDFBLOCK.pdf: 733418 bytes, checksum: bf6d8896073a1198928b251fb6edd03e (MD5)
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In this research; we investigate the main discursive characteristics of the Movement called Bossa Nova in the Brazilian Popular Music discourse in the music of João Gilberto; Antônio Carlos Jobim; Vinícius de Moraes; Roberto Menescal; Carlos Lyra; Ronaldo Bôscoli and Newton Mendonça; Our theoretical support is the one of the French Discourse Analysis, as delineated by Dominique Maingueneau (1997;2001b); Central concepts in this work are: discursive position and scenographic; ethical and linguistic investments (MAINGUENEAU; 2001b); To accomplish our task; we followed seven steps: 1; We showed who the predecessors were and the influence received by Bossa Nova; 2; We told the movement history; 3; We identified the principal representatives and their legacy to the Brazilian music; 4; We made the description of the musical notion of Bossa Nova concerning the verbal and musical plan; 5; We described the characteristics of the movement; 6; We demonstrated how the phonographic market was at the time and the decisive moments of Bossa nova; and 7; We ended up by analysing the songs; As we studied the corpus; we verified the scenographic investments: open spaces such as the nature; the sea; the beach; or closed ones such as inside an apartment; a plane or a bar; etc; in relation to the ethical investments: we found lyric; passionate; nostalgic; sad and sensitive individuals; as for the language code; we identified examples of internal and external plurilinguism; concerning the choice of vocabulary: the use of colloquial language; including slang of that epoch; metaphors; repetitions; comparisons; paranomasia; puns or play on words; citations; etc; and the dialogues with some Afro-Brazilian religions and concrete party; and so forth
Nesta pesquisa; investigamos as principais características discursivas do Movimento Bossa Nova; no discurso literomusical brasileiro; nas composições de João Gilberto; Antônio Carlos Jobim; Vinícius de Moraes; Roberto Menescal; Carlos Lyra; Ronaldo Bôscoli e Newton Mendonça; Nosso suporte teórico é o da Análise de Discurso de linha francesa; conforme delineada por Dominique Maingueneau (1997; 2001b); São conceitos centrais neste trabalho; posicionamento e investimentos cenográfico; ético e lingüístico (MAINGUENEAU; 2001b); Para efetuar nossa tarefa; cumprimos sete etapas; 1 Mostramos quais foram os precursores e as influências recebidas pela Bossa Nova; 2 Historiamos o movimento; 3 Nomeamos os representantes principais com o seu legado para a música brasileira; 4 Fizemos a descrição da concepção musical da Bossa Nova nos planos verbal e musical; 5 Descrevemos as características do Movimento; 6 Demonstramos como era o mercado fonográfico na época e os momentos decisivos da Bossa Nova; e 7 Finalizamos com a análise das canções; Estudando os corpus; verificamos os investimentos cenográficos; ambientes abertos; como a natureza; o mar; a praia; ou fechados; como dentro de um apartamento; de um avião ou de um bar etc; em relação aos investimentos éticos; encontramos ethé de sujeitos líricos; enamorados; saudosos; tristes e sensíveis etc; quanto ao código lingüístico; identificamos exemplos de plurilingüismo interno e externo; e; no concernente à escolha de vocabulário; o uso de linguagem coloquial; incluindo gírias daquele tempo; há metáforas; repetições; comparações; paranomásia; jogos de palavras; citações; bem como diálogos com o candomblé e a umbanda; com a poesia concreta; dentre outros
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Weltzien, Espen Hultgreen y Sohail Badami. "Är etiska aktiefonder lika lönsamma som traditionella aktiefonder? : En studie som jämför riskjusterad avkastning mellan svenska etiska aktiefonder och traditionella aktiefonder". Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för ekonomi och företagande, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-15303.
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Background: There has been an increase in savings and investment in recent years along with an increased interest in responsible investments. Ethical mutual funds has developed and gained increasingly popularity. Aim: The aim of the study is to examine if ethical mutual funds are an equivalent alternative to traditional mutual funds in terms of return, risk and risk-adjusted return on the Swedish stock market. Theory: Beta, Jensen's Alpha, Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio, and Modern Portfolio Theory. Method: Quantitative survey method, a statistical study. Conclusion:The study concludes that there is no significant difference between ethical and conventional mutual funds in terms of return, risk and risk-adjusted return. The small differences that exist between the two fund groups are in favor of the ethical fund group, indicating that funds is a comparable investment option compared to traditional mutual funds.
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Coleman, Hassim. "The impact of ethical leadership and interpersonal trust on employee engagement in an investment banking environment in South Africa". Diss., University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/64834.
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Academic studies have investigated the impact of transformational and authentic leadership on employee engagement. However, there have been limited studies undertaken to examine the influence of ethical leadership on employee engagement. A leader's ability to be effective in a corporate environment is related to the degree to which subordinates trust him or her. In this study, the researcher first examines whether ethical leadership influences employeesÕ attitudes and work behaviours, such as engagement and secondly, whether interpersonal trust in the immediate manager influences employee engagement. This study was conducted using a standard multiple regression statistical model based on survey data obtained from employees in the investment banking division of a large South African financial services company. Given the recent high profile corporate and banking scandals both in South Africa and globally, both ethical immediate managers and interpersonal trust in immediate managers are crucial to limit further scandals and ensure the sustainability of organisations.Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
pa2018
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MBA
Unrestricted
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Dobra-Kiel, Alexandra. "Emotions and behavioural ethics : the case of asset management and investment banking". Thesis, University of Warwick, 2017. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/102075/.
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This PhD Dissertation, structured by essays, aims to contribute to the field of emotions and behavioural ethics by spanning across disciplinary boundaries and methodological approaches. The ‘General Introduction’ provides a background as well as an overview of the contributions of this PhD Dissertation. The first essay provides the first systematic review on emotions and ethical decision-making, based on 38 empirical studies published between 2008 and 2017. At a methodological level, it reflects on the research methods that have been deployed so far to validate the study of the role of emotions on ethical decision-making. At a content level, it outlines the impact, in terms of outcomes, of different categories of emotions on ethical decision-making, through developing a 2x2 matrix of categories and outcomes. It concludes by recommending future thematic research avenues at both a methodological and content-level. The second essay provides the first exploratory study of implicit ethical behaviour and integral emotion responses in the asset management industry, through critical incident interviews with 38 elite fund managers in top-tier and boutique asset management companies in the UK. The latent thematic analysis of the interviews, guided by an essentialist paradigm, contributes to a contextualised elaboration of theory by developing a framework linking dimensions of ethical behaviour (i.e., authenticity and responsibility) with emotion responses (i.e., control and motivation). It contributes to the literature on ethical theories/value orientation, emotion regulation and appraisal theories by highlighting congruencies and incongruencies with existing research. The third essay provides a group-level psychosocial analysis of ethical risk on both a conscious and unconscious tier. Furthermore, it identifies how emotional contagion and RegTech (i.e., regulatory technology) efficiency affect ethical risk. It develops a mid-range model of ethical risk, alongside a typology of ethical behaviour and risk, and discusses theoretical and managerial implications.
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Medetbekova, Tamila. "The influence on ethical behaviour of established foreign companies when entering emerging markets - A case study of two Swedish companies in Kazakhstan". Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för ekonomistyrning och logistik (ELO), 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-59500.
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Background: Companies always look for opportunities to expand their businesses internationally as it is the way for them to grow beyond its current status. Nowadays, emerging markets seem to be very attractive in terms of economic growth. Thus, there is a tendency towards foreign direct investment inflows to emerging market economies. However, these markets can be very risky and there is no guarantee of success. Companies would have to be ready to face challenges and obstacles related to the unfamiliar environment. They would have to deal with the internal confrontation of whether to accept or reject the local rules of the game as well as to face difficulties in terms of maintaining a high standard of business ethics and promoting best corporate governance practices. Overall, the conditions of these markets can negatively affect the ethical behaviour of established foreign companies which in turn can negatively affect the reputation and brand value of these companies. This paper describes and analyzes the above issues through a case study of two Swedish companies in the market of Kazakhstan: Tele2 and TeliaSonera. Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of emerging market economy conditions of Kazakhstan on companies control structure or code of conduct, specifically how they can handle the internal confrontation and maintain a high standard of business ethics and corporate governance practices. Therefore, the tasks were also set to describe and analyze the entry process of two Swedish telecom companies into the market of Kazakhstan in order to improve the understanding of Swedish companies’ preparations, strategy of entry and operations when entering an emerging market of Kazakhstan. Methodology: The research thesis is based on the case study approach which uses a qualitative method to obtain the necessary data. Primary data was collected through interviews with the above mentioned two Swedish telecom companies in Kazakhstan. Secondary data was collected from e-sources. Findings/ Conclusions: In this research, I found that the best entry strategy for entering Kazakhstan is to form a joint-venture with the local partner, but if the company had an earlier experience in similar markets, then the acquisition strategy can be chosen. With regard to the ethical issues, factors such as a weak legal framework, a high level of corruption, poor corporate governance and cultural differences between Sweden and Kazakhstan as well as individual factors of all stakeholders including the manager may have a negative effect on the ethical behaviour of Swedish companies entering and operating in Kazakhstan. It is revealed in this study that Swedish companies manage to confront ethical dilemmas by choosing to “go at it alone”. To be able to confront these issues, companies should set their own bar for how to act as ethically and responsibly. Also, they should ensure the enforcement of codes of conduct, corporate governance, ethics training, ethical role model of top management and whistle-blowers policy.
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Forget, Elisabeth. "L'investissement éthique : analyse juridique". Thesis, Strasbourg, 2013. http://www.theses.fr/2013STRAA017.
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L’investissement éthique est un investissement fondé sur des critères extra-financiers : l’investisseur cherche un enrichissement tout en poursuivant une fin non matérielle tirée du respect de certaines valeurs La coloration éthique a vocation à rejaillir sur le régime de cet investissement. Elle dicte le contenu de la politique d’investissement, oblige les intermédiaires financiers à informer les investisseurs de manière adéquate, et les contraint à veiller à la conformité éthique de l’investissement jusqu’à son dénouement.L’investissement éthique ne saurait toutefois se limiter à cela. Adoptant une démarche conséquentialiste, les investisseurs peuvent s’engager auprès des émetteurs pour y défendre leurs valeurs. D’un point de vue théorique, cet activisme actionnarial met en lumière l’échec des thèses traditionnelles à définir la finalité des sociétés. Plutôt que de raisonner en termes d’intérêt social, il conviendrait à présent de recourir à la Stakeholder TheoryEthical investment is based on non-financial criteria: the investor expects a return on the investment while pursuing a non-material objective, based on the respect of certain values. Ethics bring a nuance, which impacts the set of rules for this type of investment. It establishes the content of the investment policy and requires financial intermediaries to inform investors adequately. It also forces them to ensure ethical compliance of the investment to its ending. Ethical investment, however, is not limited to this. By adopting a consequentialist approach, investors can engage with issuers to defend their values. From a theoretical point of view, this shareholder activism highlights the failure of traditional theories to define the purpose of companies. Because the concept of “intérêt social”, which the French doctrine struggles to define, leads to a deadlock, a cross-disciplinary approach, the Stakeholder Theory, should be preferred
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Nilsson, Jonas. "Consumer decision making in a complex environment : Examining the decision making process of socially responsible mutual fund investors". Doctoral thesis, Umeå universitet, Handelshögskolan vid Umeå universitet, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-35607.
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During the last few decades, "regular people" have become increasingly involved with investing in the stock market. One way of doing this, which has become more and more popular, is to invest in mutual funds. The mutual fund industry has, due to its explosive growth, been described as a success story of the 20th century. These days, sources report that over 70% of the Swedish population actively invests in mutual funds. This thesis is an investigation into consumer decision making regarding one specific type of mutual fund: Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). SRI profiled mutual funds are different from "regular" mutual funds in that they incorporate social, ethical, and environmental (SEE) criteria. In this manner, SRI profiled mutual funds could be said to have two separate dimensions. The regular financial dimension has the purpose of generating a high level of financial return while managing risk. The socially responsible dimension, on the other hand, focuses on incorporating SEE issues into the investment process. However, consumers that desire to choose mutual funds that will both perform well financially and have a good socially responsible dimension face a more difficult decision than consumers who choose to invest in "regular" mutual funds. As each of the dimensions come with its own set of challenges which the consumer must overcome, choosing an appropriate combination of these is a difficult task. In this manner, consumers of SRI profiled mutual funds have to navigate through a complex decision making environment to arrive at a good choice. Based in this notion of decision making in complex environments, this thesis investigates how consumers combine their "traditional" financial objectives with their "additional" SEE consideration and examines the impact of personal factors related to these two areas on consumer investment in SRI profiled mutual funds. Four separate essays on these topics, each investigating a specific stage in the Engel-Kollat-Blackwell (1968) consumer decision making process, are presented. Moreover, in order to understand how complexity impacts consumer decision making in the area, the results of each study are analyzed against a conceptual framework focusing on the complexity of the market. The results show that consumers of SRI profiled mutual funds care about both financial and SEE issues. However, how consumers combine these in their decision making differs. Factors, such as the stage of the purchase decision making process, personal abilities, preferences, and perceptions are found to impact consumer decision making. Against this background, this thesis generates an increased understanding of consumer decision making in complex decision making environments in general and of SRI profiled mutual funds in particular.
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Bresnahan, Robert D. "Virtue Ethics and Investment Advisors in the Canadian Financial Services Industry: An Application of Alasdair MacIntyre's Tripartite Model of Virtue Ethics and Moral Philosophy". Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/28610.
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Recent events in global capital markets have underscored the impotence of securities regulation and paucity of ethical behaviour. With the resurgence of virtue ethics it only seems appropriate that a concerted effort should be undertaken to apply this model to the financial services industry.
This thesis will apply Alasdair MacIntyre's tripartite notion of virtue ethics as explicated in his highly acclaimed work After Virtue to the role of the Investment Advisor in the Canadian financial services industry. MacIntyre's concepts of practice, narrative order of a single human life and the notion of tradition will be applied to the role of the Investment Advisor and the institutions that accommodate the profession. It will be concluded that MacIntyre's notions of practice and narrative order of a single human life is readily applicable but due to MacIntyre's profound criticism of capitalism, the notion of tradition is more difficult to incorporate comprehensively.
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Bryer, Philip y Yoshihiko Kadoya. "Chinese Business Ethics and Regional Differences : Evidence from Micro-data in Six Major Cities". 名古屋大学大学院経済学研究科附属国際経済政策研究センター, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2237/20456.
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Revelli, Christophe. "La performance financière de l'investissement socialement responsable (ISR) : approche méta-analytique". Thesis, Montpellier 1, 2011. http://www.theses.fr/2011MON10035/document.
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Cette thèse évalue la performance financière de l'investissement socialement responsable (ISR). Dans le but de surmonter le manque de consensus sur le thème de recherche, nous proposons d'aborder la question sous l'angle de la généralisation à travers une approche méta-analytique ayant pour objectif de démontrer un lien de cause à effet entre ISR et performance financière (ou boursière). A travers l'étude d'un corpus empirique d'observation incluant 75 études (161 expérimentations) sur la période 1972-2009 sélectionnées sur la base de notre propre typologie définitionnelle de l'ISR, nous articulons notre recherche autour de deux études : exploratoire et approche méta-analytique.L'étude exploratoire fournit ainsi, via l'utilisation de tests non paramétriques (Chi-deux) et de l'analyse de données (analyse factorielle des correspondances simple et multiple, classification ascendante hiérarchique), des typologies d'effet ISR sur la performance financière regroupant natures d'impact ISR sur la performance (positif, négatif ou neutre) et modalités de variables méthodologiques (marché ISR, méthode de comparaison de données, mesure de la performance financière…). L'approche méta-analytique (la première dans le champ de recherche) explore la relation entre ISR et performance financière sur un corpus réduit (61 études / 123 expérimentations). Les résultats observés tendent à prouver que l'éthique n'a pas de coût financier et génère des rentabilités similaires (voire légèrement supérieure) à celle de l'investissement conventionnel. Nous observons également que les choix empiriques effectués par les auteurs influencent considérablement la nature de la performance financière de l'ISRThis thesis evaluates the financial performance of socially responsible investment (SRI). In the purpose of overcoming the lack of consensus on the research theme, we propose to approach the question under the angle of generalization across a meta-analytical approach, aiming to demonstrate a link between SRI and financial performances (or stock exchange performance) and identify the methodological determinants of this causal relationship. Across the study of an empirical corpus observation, including 75 studies (161 experimentations) across the 1972-2009 period, all selected on the basis of our own typological definition of SRI, we articulate our research around two studies : exploratory and meta-analytical approach.By the use of non-parametric tests (chi square), and of data analysis (simple and multiple correspondence analysis, ascending hierarchical clustering), the exploratory study provides typologies of SRI effects on the financial performance, gathering the nature of SRI impacts on performance (positive, negative or neutral) ant the terms of methodological variables (SRI market, data comparison method, financial performance measure...). The meta-analytical approach (first one in the field of research) explores the relation between SRI and financial performance on a reduced corpus (61 studies / 123 experimentations). The results we observed tend to prove that ethics has no financial cost and generates similar profitability (even slightly more) than a conventional investment. We also observe that the empirical choices made by the authors have a considerable influence on the nature of the ISR financial performance
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Goodman, Jennifer Coralie. "Social shareholder engagement: How shareholders bring social, environmental and ethical concerns to the heart of management". Doctoral thesis, Universitat Ramon Llull, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/295841.
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Els accionistes sempre han estat fonamentals per entendre un negoci. I ho continuen essent avui. Tanmateix, suposar que una empresa s’ha de dirigir només per satisfer les demandes dels accionistes, i que aquests accionistes estan preocupats només per maximitzar els seus beneficis econòmics, resulta problemàtic, davant de les nombroses exigències que tant aquests accionistes com d’altres stakeholders plantegen a les empreses.
En una època en què temes com el canvi climàtic i la distància creixent entre els rics i els pobres s’estan convertint en preocupacions urgents per a la societat, el paper de les empreses, les seves finalitats i les seves pràctiques s’estan qüestionant tant en l’àmbit públic, com en el privat i en l’acadèmic. La inversió responsable, els diversos tipus d’inversors, les iniciatives multistakeholder, les comunitats, les campanyes d’activisme i una varietat creixent de stakeholders plantegen múltiples i diverses demandes a les empreses, que van més enllà dels interessos econòmics.
Aquesta tesi adopta la perspectiva del repte que suposa per a les empreses que es qüestionin els supòsits en què es fonamenta la seva naturalesa. Hi ha accionistes que s’impliquen en la gestió corporativa de les problemàtiques socials, mediambientals i ètiques, com els drets humans o la degradació de l’entorn. En aquest estudi, s’analitza empíricament i conceptualment aquesta “implicació de l’accionista” (shareholder engagement), que és un fenomen cada vegada més rellevant en la pràctica corporativa i en l’activitat investigadora. Oferim una nova perspectiva de la implicació de l’accionista, que identifica la seva naturalesa política i ètica. D’aquesta manera, participem i contribuïm a la literatura sobre govern corporatiu, inversió responsable, activisme social i ètica empresarial, i obrim noves vies per a la recerca futura.Los accionistas siempre han sido fundamentales para entender un negocio. Y lo siguen siendo hoy. Sin embargo, suponer que una empresa ha de ser dirigida únicamente para satisfacer las demandas de los accionistas, y que dichos accionistas están preocupados únicamente por maximizar sus beneficios económicos, resulta problemático, a la luz de las numerosas exigencias que plantean a las empresas tanto los accionistas como otros stakeholders. En un tiempo en que determinados temas, como el cambio climático y la distancia creciente entre ricos y pobres, se están convirtiendo en preocupaciones acuciantes para la sociedad, el papel de las empresas, sus fines y sus prácticas están siendo cuestionados en los ámbitos público, privado y académico. La inversión responsable, los diversos tipos de inversores, las iniciativas multistakeholder, las comunidades, las campañas de activismo y la gran variedad de stakeholders han planteado múltiples y diversas demandas a las empresas, que van más allá de los intereses económicos. Esta tesis adopta la perspectiva del reto que supone para las empresas el cuestionamiento de las asunciones en que se fundamenta su naturaleza. Hay accionistas que se implican en la gestión corporativa de las preocupaciones sociales, medioambientales y éticas, como los derechos humanos o la degradación del entorno. En este estudio, se analiza empíricamente y conceptualmente esta “implicación del accionista” (shareholder engagement), pues es un fenómeno cada vez más relevante en la práctica corporativa y en la actividad investigadora. Ofrecemos una nueva perspectiva de la implicación del accionista, que identifica su naturaleza política y ética. De este modo, participamos y contribuimos a la literatura sobre gobierno corporativo, inversión responsable, activismo social y ética empresarial, y abrimos nuevas vías para la investigación futura.
Shareholders have always been fundamental to an understanding of the corporation. The same is true today. However, the assumptions that the firm should be run to meet only the demands of shareholders, and that those shareholders are concerned only about the maximization of financial returns, are problematic in light of the multitude of demands placed on corporations by both shareholders and other stakeholders. At a time when issues such as climate change and the widening gap between rich and poor have become pressing societal concerns, the role of business, its purposes and its practices have been challenged in the public, private, and academic spheres. Responsible investment, diverse investor types, multi-stakeholder initiatives, communities, activist campaigns, and a variety of other stakeholders have resulted in multiple and diverse demands on the company which go well beyond financial interests. This thesis takes the perspective of one such challenge to the fundamental assumptions about the nature of the firm: shareholders who actively engage with corporate management on issues of social, environmental, and ethical concern such as human rights or environmental degradation. This ‘social shareholder engagement’, an increasingly relevant phenomenon in practice and research, is explored here both empirically and conceptually. I provide a new perspective on social shareholder engagement, which identifies the political and ethical nature of these actions. In this way I engage with and contribute to the corporate governance, responsible investment, social activism and business ethics literatures and open a number of future avenues for research.
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Hamrin, Lisa y Maria Orehag. "Etiska Fonder : - Ett steg mot en mer hållbar värld?" Thesis, Mälardalens högskola, Akademin för hållbar samhälls- och teknikutveckling, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-12618.
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Today, there is no uniform definition of what an ethical fund is. Fund management companies choose themselves what they believe is ethical and not. The lack of the definition makes it difficult for consumers to understand why these funds are special compared to other funds. The purpose of this study is to examine three Swedish companies; KPA Pension, Swedbank Robur and Folksam, to obtain a clearer picture of the concept ethical funds and its definition. The study describes each company's view of Ethics and how they may affect other companies to work for a more sustainable world. The paper will also discuss how fund companies make a good balance between ethics and profit. The study is based on interviews with people involved in Corporate Social Responsibility and Responsible Investments. The results suggest that companies themselves have difficulties to define what an ethical fund is, but they all believe they have a good chance to influence the various companies. Research on ethical funds and their returns have shown different results. This makes it difficult to determine if ethics and returns go hand in hand or if ethical funds instead leads to a lower risk, with a smaller yield.I dagsläget finns det ingen enhetlig definition för vad en etisk fond är. Fondbolagen väljer själva vad de anser är etiskt och inte. Den uteblivna definitionen gör det svårt för konsumenter att förstå vad som utmärker just de här fonderna, gentemot andra. Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka tre svenska företag, KPA Pension, Swedbank Robur och Folksam, för att på så sätt få en klarare bild av etiska fonder och dess definition. Studien beskriver vad de olika företagen har för syn på etik och hur de kan påverka de företag de är delägare i. Uppsatsen kommer även att diskutera hur fondbolagen kan få en bra balans mellan etik och avkastning. Studien bygger på intervjuer med personer som arbetar med Corporate Social Responsibility och ansvarsfulla investeringar. Resultatet tyder på att företagen själva har svårt att definiera vad en etisk fond är, men att de alla anser att de har en bra chans att påverka de olika företagen. Forskningen angående etiska fonder och dess avkastning har visat olika resultat. Vilket gör det svårt att bestämma om etik och avkastning går hand i hand eller om etiska fonder istället medför en mindre risk, med en mindre avkastning.
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Molinari, Claire Marcella. "The environment, intergenerational equity & long-term investment". Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:30dd270b-3f0f-4b8b-979e-904af5cb597b.
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This thesis brings together two responses to the question ‘how can the law extend the timeframe for environmentally relevant decision-making?’ The first response is drawn from the context of institutional investment, and addresses the timeframe and breadth of environmental considerations in pension fund investment decision-making. The second response is related to the context of public environmental decision-making by legislators, the judiciary, and administrators. Three themes underlie and bind the thesis: the challenges to decision-making posed by the particular temporal and spatial characteristics of environmental problems, the existence and effects of short-termism in a variety of contexts, and the legal notion of the trust as a means for analysing and addressing problems of a long-term or intergenerational nature. These themes are borne out in each of the four substantive chapters. Chapter III sets out to demonstrate the theoretical potential of pension funds to drive the reduction of firms’ environmental impact, and, focusing particularly on the notion of fiduciary duty, explores the barriers that stand in their way. Chapter IV provides a practical application of the theoretical recommendations outlined in its predecessor. It provides a framework outlining how pension funds might implement a longer term, more sustainable approach to investing. The second half of the thesis, operating in the context of public environmental decision-making, is centred upon a particularly poignant legal notion with respect to the environment and time: the concept of intergenerational equity. Just as the first half of the thesis deals with the timeframes relevant to investment decision-making by pension funds within the bounds of fiduciary duty, largely a private law affair with public implications, the second half of the thesis is concerned with the principle of intergenerational equity as a means for extending the decision-making timeframe of legislative, judicial and administrative decision-makers. As previous analyses of the concept of intergenerational equity provide little insight into its practical implications when applied to particular factual situation, Chapter V sets out the structure of the principle of intergenerational equity as revealed by case law. Chapter VI brings together the issues from the first three papers by conceptualising intergenerational equity in resource management as an issue of long-term investment. Long-term environmental decision-making faces many obstacles. Individual behavioural biases, short-term financial incentive structures, the myopic pressures of the electoral cycle and the tendency of the common law to reinforce the (often shorttermist) status quo all present significant barriers to the capacity of both private and public decision-makers to act in ways that favour the longer term interests of the environment. Nonetheless, this thesis argues that there is reason for hope: drawing upon the three themes that underlie all of the substantive Chapters, it articulates potential legislative changes and recommends the adoption of particular governance structures to overcome barriers to long-term environmental decision-making.
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Jacobs, Phillip A. H. "The identification and evaluation of key sustainable development indicators and the development of a conceptual decision-making model for capital investment within Gold Fields Limited (GFL)". Thesis, Rhodes University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008304.
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The current trends in sustainable development (SO) were examined in this study, which brought about the realisation that SO has become a business imperative. Mining, which is a highly impacting industry, is faced with the dilemma of implementing the principles of SO despite the realisation that its activities are severely limited by· the finite nature of the resource it is capitalising on. This reality, however, does not detract from the non-negotiable requirement for the industry to meet the increasing pressures to act responsibly towards the environment and the community in which it operates. Gold Fields has stepped up to the plate and has already taken several steps to achieve this end. These include the adoption of SO in its Vision, Values and strategies and the development and implementation of a SO framework to ensure the integration of the principles of SO into the business. Furthermore, Gold Fields has also entered into voluntary activities that further cement the commitment the company has towards so. These other initiatives include, inter alia, its International Council on Mining and Metals membership, UN Global Compact participation, becoming a signatory to the cyanide code, IS014001, and so on. This study focussed on several indicator categories and the identification of a set of supporting sustainable development indicators (SOls) for each, which included environmental, social, economic, technological, and ethics, legal and corporate governance (not in order of priority). These indicators were assessed by a carefully selected group of respondents whose collective wisdom and expertise were used to identify and weight supporting SOls for each of the indicator categories. These supporting SOls were in turn used to develop a model that is able to assist in the business's decision making processes when capital investment is being considered . A water treatment project that is currently being considered by Gold Fields was utilised to demonstrate how the decision making model can be applied to two different scenarios. The result clearly and successfully demonstrated that by proactively taking environmental, economic, social, technological, and ethics, legal and corporate governance considerations into account, a gold mining company is able to increase the level of SO of a capital investment project.
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Jong, Yungong Theophilus y Janet Cherry. "Evaluating the development potential of extractive sector corporate social investments in Cameroon: Case of the oil & gas and mining sub sectors". Thesis, Nelson Mandela University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13370.
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This study set out to evaluate the development potential of extractive sector corporate social investments (CSI) in Cameroon. It does this by evaluating the extent to which extractive companies effectively integrate CSI in their business operations and how this can be improved upon for more effective development outcomes in the country. The study premises that CSI can contribute to development but its activities will not always amount to just, balanced and sustainable development outcomes. To understand the extent to which it does, this study develops and applies a framework for determining the applicability and effectiveness of extractive sector CSI practices. The research followed an interpretivist philosophical orientation. A case study research strategy with the elements of a survey research was used. It also implemented a mixed research methods approach and relied on both primary and secondary data sources. The CSI evaluation process used documentary survey techniques and content analysis of corporate social responsibility-related documentation provided by extractive companies and other sector stakeholders. This was triangulated with an expert survey as well as a survey of major development organisations to understand the opinion of the external environment that should shape CSI practices. Results were analysed, discussed and synthesised using the front-end, mid-phase and back-end criteria for evaluating CSI integration. Findings show significant level of adherence to the discretionary idea of CSI among extractive firms working in Cameroon. This is due partly to growing social responsibility awareness among extractive firms around the world and the consequence of inaction. The greater majority of companies however, do not show strong proof of well thought out CSI implementation strategies. The feeling among experts is that extractive sector CSI in Cameroon is failing. It is predominantly self-regulated by extractive companies which raise questions regarding objective and credible CSI practices. The study concludes that CSI has been implemented in ad-hoc, haphazard and un-systematic ways. It has a viable potential to contribute to development but still suffers from a very weak CSI enabling environment as well as the challenges of sustainable development. Extractive sector CSI therefore, still needs to be significantly reworked to enhance its potential in contributing to just, balanced and sustainable development in Cameroon. It is recommended that an enabling environment be put in place through CSI promotional activities in the country.
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Alfordy, Faisal D. "The impact of Saudi Arabian culture on minority shareholders' rights". Thesis, University of Gloucestershire, 2016. http://eprints.glos.ac.uk/4259/.
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The aim of this research study is to examine the impact of Saudi Arabian culture on corporate governance (CG) and its regulatory compliance with respect to the protection of minority shareholders’ interests. The protection of minority shareholders is a primary concern in the area of CG and particularly as defined by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) principles. In Saudi Arabia, CG is a newly introduced regime. Its set of CG principles was initially issued after the first market crash in 2006, which signified the need for appropriate CG standards in Saudi Arabia because minority shareholders suffered catastrophic losses. Moreover, CG legislation in Saudi Arabia is still slowly moving from voluntary to obligatory because family-owned firms, which is the dominant form of incorporation, are stifling corporate growth by their reluctance to open their equity to outside shareholders, as argued by the OECD report of Koldertsova (2011). Hence, the conceptual framework for understanding how Saudi Culture affects minorities is based upon Hofstede’s (1980-2010) Cultural Value Dimension (CVD) model linking societal constructs with the legal and political milieu. Thus, this research sets out to examine this link in relevance to Saudi Culture. In addition, this undertaking will extend, via the second research question, to uncover other factors, such as the legal and political, influencing the level of compliance of listed Saudi corporations with the OECD principles with respect to the protection of minority shareholder rights. The findings of this study provides significant correlations between each of Hofstede’s CVDs: Individualism, Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Femininity, and Long Term Orientation and the quality of the exercise of minority shareholders’ rights as defined by the OECD’s principles of CG in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the distribution of each CV dimension was found not to be the same when comparing groups of Majority and Minority shareholders. Hence, the significant correlations expose two different subcultures: an active culture pertaining to Majority shareholders and a passive culture pertaining to Minority shareholders in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the current legal environment guiding the CG procedures in Saudi Arabia was found to attach a low level of significance to minority shareholders in terms of: ease of litigation, establishment of specialised courts, appointment of competent qualified judges in CG commercial cases, and creation of awareness programmes for minority shareholders’ rights. In addition, the lack of a solid constitution was found to weaken popular pressure to safeguard shareholders' rights and promote a block-holding model of corporate control. Hence, due to governmental institutions falling short on their responsibilities, Saudi controlling families can practically be considered as an institution, as indicated by Institutional Theory, and this familial institution is likely to continue to manifest itself in the governance of emerging economic systems such as Saudi Arabia's as its survival is dependent on the institutional context.
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Augusto, César Ezequiel. "Investimento socialmente responsável: a tangibilidade financeira". Master's thesis, Universidade de Évora, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10174/14636.
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Este trabalho estuda a temática da responsabilidade social nas organizações e a sua passagem e concretização aos mercados de investimento financeiro através de fundos éticos. O estudo incide sobre o desempenho financeiro de 18 fundos éticos comercializados por bancos portugueses durante um período de 3 anos compreendido entre 2008 e 2010. Este desempenho é estabelecido com índices de mercado convencionais e não convencionais e é estudado recorrendo a indicadores de estatística descritiva e de desempenho. São igualmente exploradas as relações entre alguns dos indicadores e a importância dos mesmos. Na análise dos dados, apenas 4 fundos apresentaram um desempenho de rentabilidade positivo. Os resultados revelaram a existência de diferenças entre os fundos sociais e o índice de mercado convencional. No mercado ético, só 4 dos fundos apresentaram diferenças de desempenho; ABSTRACT:Socially Responsible Investment: A Financial Tangibility
This paper studies the issue of social responsibility in organizations and their operation and implementation in investment markets through ethical investment funds. The study focuses on the financial performance of 18 ethical funds over a period of three years between 2008 and 2010 sold by Portuguese banks. This performance is established with market indexes conventional and unconventional. The results revealed the existence of differences between social funds and the rate of the conventional market. This performance is established with market indices conventional and unconventional and is studied using descriptive statistics and indicators of performance. They also explored the relationships between some of the indicators and the importance thereof. In analyzing the data, only four funds had a positive performance in profitability. The results revealed the existence of differences between social funds and the index of the conventional market. In the ethical market, only four of the funds differ in performance.
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Beck, Justin. "NAFTA's Impact on Mexico, the U.S., and Canada's Economies: A Look at Stock Returns". Scholarship @ Claremont, 2016. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1364.
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The North American Free Trade Agreement continues to be a controversial topic, and with the impending implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, NAFTA has been a heavily discussed issue during the 2016 presidential campaign. Past research has critically assessed the extent to which NAFTA delivered on promises made by its lobbyists to improve economic welfare and stimulate growth in the North American markets, via trade and investment. These studies explain that NAFTA has helped to boost intra-regional trade and investment flows in North America, but has fallen short on any substantial improvements in welfare and deeper regional economic integration. However, researchers have found evidence for convergence among North American equity markets, and argue that this is generated by NAFTA. Using time series data from 1990 to 2007, this study builds on these conclusions to examine how NAFTA impacted equity markets in the North American region. I look at returns to each major stock index for Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, and find evidence that returns on these indexes improve in the post-NAFTA period for Mexico and the U.S., but not for Canada. Additionally, there is evidence to suggest that exports and FDI are the primary drivers for this improvement in stock returns.