The risk-adjusted performance of responsible investment funds in South Africa

Risk and return characteristics of environmentally and socially responsible firms in Spain during a financial downturn: 2008–2011

“…In line with Ortas et al (2012), we recommend that research focus on emerging markets (e.g., South Africa), because these countries present factors that make them unique from established economies (e.g., rapid population growth, high social and income inequalities, restricted local capital) and that could affect CESP. Also, although investor interest in sustainability issues has evolved (International Finance Corporation, 2011), it still remains relatively low in much of the world (e.g., South Africa) (Viviers et al, 2008a(Viviers et al, , 2008b. In sum, a great need remains for more information about investment quality and the performance of environmental and social stock indices.…”

“…If the EMS is implemented in accordance with internationally recognized environmental standards (e.g., EMAS, ISO 14001), the company also gains qualifications to be included in socially responsible stock indexes. Therefore, the adoption of an EMS should help businesses attract more investors (Collison et al, 2009;Curran & Moran, 2007;De la Cuesta et al, 2002;Viviers et al, 2008aViviers et al, , 2008b. It also may enhance the firm's corporate reputation among its stakeholders (including investors) (Curran & Moran, 2007;Marquez & Fombrum, 2005;Siegel, 2009), invoking additional external funding possibilities (Curran & Moran, 2007;Lozano, Albareda & Balaguer, 2006;Siegel, 2009).…”

“…For example, they might lose access to financial resources, because investors increasingly rely on social and environmental decision-making criteria (De la Cuesta, Valor & Sanmartin, 2002;Viviers, Bosch, Smit & Buijs, 2008a, 2008b. In parallel with the various corporate social responsibility qualification and rating agencies (e.g., Ethical Investment Research Services -EIRIS-, Sustainable Asset Management -SAM-, Sustainable Investment Research International -SiRi-, Forum Ethibel), several investment funds and stock market indexes feature only businesses that comply with strict environmental and social demands (e.g., FTSE4Good Index, Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Domini 400 Social Index; EscrigOlmedo, Muñoz-Torres & Fernandez-Izquierdo, 2013).…”

“…For example, international initiatives such as the UN Global Compact (UN, 1999(UN, , 2004 and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI, 2006) that offer businesses and investors guidance with regard to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues increasingly affect the strategic decision-making arena. Efforts to align with ESG principles drive both business (Bremer, 2008) and investment (Collison, Cobb, Power & Stevenson, 2009;Grene, 2008;Viviers et al, 2008aViviers et al, , 2008b) decision making. In sum, many business agents have come to recognize that their objectives cannot be limited to strictly economic criteria but also should embrace these ESG challenges, especially if they hope to respond appropriately to the demands of stakeholders (Cuervo, 2005;Porter & Kramer, 2006) and ensure their competitiveness (Porter & Van der Linde, 1995).…”

The Performance of Socially Responsible Investments in Indonesia: A Study of the Sri Kehati Index (SKI)

“…As in the case of Sharpe's Ratio, the investors would prefer high Sortino's Ratio values. Then, for the purpose of this research, the entrance or MAR value was set at zero, as rational investors are averse to negative fund returns (Viviers et al 2008). …”