ESG and Expected Returns on Equities: The Case of Environmental Ratings

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Penn collection
Wharton Pension Research Council Working Papers
Degree type
Discipline
Subject
ESG
sustainability
expected returns
factor models
earnings forecasts
fiduciary responsibility
Economics
Funder
Grant number
License
Copyright date
Distributor
Related resources
Author
Guerard, John B.
Contributor
Abstract

Using long-standing models for expected returns of US equities, we show that firm environmental ratings interact with those forecasted returns and produce excess returns both unconditionally and conditionally. Well-known factor models subsume neither environmental-related return differentials nor expected return premia from those scores and models. In addition, combining information from both inputs—expected return models and economic, social, and governance (ESG) information—may provide an advantage in selecting investments. For financial fiduciaries, this notion shifts the conversation about ESG reflecting only constraints to one of an expanded information and possibly investment opportunity set.

Advisor
Date Range for Data Collection (Start Date)
Date Range for Data Collection (End Date)
Digital Object Identifier
Series name and number
Publication date
2021-08-01
Volume number
Issue number
Publisher
Publisher DOI
Journal Issue
Comments
The published version of this working paper can be found in the 2023 publication: Pension Funds and Sustainable Investment: Challenges and Opportunities (https://pensionresearchcouncil.wharton.upenn.edu/pension-funds-and-sustainable-investment-challenges-and-opportunities/).
Recommended citation
Collection