Prizewinning FEB research: “Asset managers use info on good governance to manage investment risks”

Researchers prof. Bert Scholtens, dr. Auke Plantinga and student Emiel van Duuren of the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) of the University of Groningen have won the Sustainalytics Academic Award. This prize worth € 3.500 is sponsored by Sustainalytics and awarded by the academic network of the PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment) of the United Nations and presented at their annual conference in November in Paris.

Responsible Investment involves taking into account sustainability and good governance issues. In their prizewinning article 'ESG integration by asset managers ' Scholtens, Plantinga and Van Duuren investigated why and how mainstream asset managers accounted for information about Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors and how this impacts on their conduct and performance.

Impact

The analysis showed that asset managers use ESG information especially to manage risks and to redflag companies. The impact on the performance of the investment portfolio showed to be rather limited. The data was assembled during an internship of Emiel van Duuren with TKP Investments, a large Dutch fiduciary investment manager. The study was based on a survey with 126 internationally operating asset managers.

About PRI

The UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment Academic Network is a research community established to support the work of the PRI Initiative through research on responsible investing. It fosters a network of scholars, practitioners, policymakers and students interested in responsible investment issues and  provides freely accessible avenues for research, education and network-building on critical responsible investment issues.

More info:

-professor Bert Scholtens
-Information about the Prize: www.sustainalytics.com
-Information about PRI: www.unpri.org