RESPONSIBLE investing appears to have entered the mainstream as more large institutional funds apply screens or take an activist stance. But does responsible investing pay?
The latest edition of the Credit Suisse Global Investment Returns Yearbook tackles the rationale, costs and benefits of responsible investing.
The article by academics Elroy Dimson, Paul Marsh and Mike Staunton says that the "laissez faire" view, where investors ignore social, environmental and ethical issues, is losing ground. "The world's largest asset owners now devote extensive resources to social and environmental issues and corporate governance, and to engaging with investee companies on these issues."
As at 2014, there...