Divest or Engage? Strategies for Responsible Investing

Divest or Engage? Strategies for Responsible Investing

  • 28 October 2019
  • University of Cambridge

 

About the event:

Pension fund beneficiaries increasingly expect that the savings entrusted to them are invested responsibly. Students, faculty and alumni expect the same for university endowments. Retail funds marked as sustainable enjoy large inflows, especially in Europe. Most institutional and retail investment managers have made a public commitment to sustainable and responsible investing (SRI).

How should asset owners and investment managers incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into their strategy? Is active management superior because fund managers can select companies with best practices and avoid companies with poor ESG records? Do index funds engage sufficiently and what impact do they have? Should funds divest from businesses or sectors whose product or conduct are deemed unacceptable?

This conference, co-hosted by the Centre for Endowment Asset Management (CEAM) and the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI), brought together the latest academic thinking and research to address questions of how best to incorporate ESG concerns into investment portfolios. 

Organisers:

Marco Becht, Solvay Brussels School, ECGI and CEPR

Elroy Dimson, University of Cambridge and ECGI

Andrew Ellul, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University and ECGI and CEPR

Oğuzhan Karakaş, University of Cambridge and ECGI

Vaska Atta-Darkua, Cambridge Judge Business School

 

Contact:

Please contact the Conference team at the Centre for Endowment Asset Management:

ceam@jbs.cam.ac.uk

Location:

The Howard Building 
Downing College
Regent Street
Cambridge
CB2 1DQ

Information

Address:
Downing College, University of Cambridge
Contact:
Elaine McPartlan
European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Monday 28 October

08:50
- 09:15

Registration

09:20
- 11:00

Session 1: Setting the scene (chaired by Marco Becht)

09:20
- 10:10

Introduction: Divest or to Engage? A Case Study of Climate-Change Activism

Discussant:
Carole Ferguson
Back to full programme

Introduction: Divest or to Engage? A Case Study of Climate-Change Activism

Time:
09:20h
- 10:10h

Speakers

Discussants

Carole Ferguson
Back to full programme

ESG Rating Disagreement and Stock Returns

Time:
10:10h
- 11:00h

ESG rating disagreement and stock returns. Peter Schmidt, Rajna Gibson, Philipp Krueger, and Nadine Riand (2019). Available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3433728

Speakers

Discussants

11:00
- 11:20

Break

11:20
- 13:00

Session 2: Thought leadership in responsible investing (chaired by David Chambers)

11:20
- 12:10

The Firms’ Reaction to Changes in the Governance Preferences of Active Institutional Owners

Speakers:
Discussant:
Back to full programme

The Firms’ Reaction to Changes in the Governance Preferences of Active Institutional Owners

Time:
11:20h
- 12:10h

The Firms’ Reaction to Changes in the Governance Preferences of Active Institutional Owners. Ruth Aguilera, Vicente Bermejo, Javier Capapé, and Vicente Cuñat (2019). Available at https://ecgi.global/working-paper/firms%E2%80%99-reaction-changes-governance-preferences-active-institutional-owners

Speakers

Discussants

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Survey on Sector Exclusions

Time:
12:10h
- 13:00h

Survey on Sector Exclusions. Vaska Atta-Darkua and Elroy Dimson (2019). Available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3467677

Speakers

Discussants

13:00
- 14:00

Lunch

14:00
- 15:40

Session 3: Voice and exit (chaired by Bang Dang Nguyen)

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Corporate Governance Through Voice and Exit

Time:
14:00h
- 14:50h

 

Corporate Governance Through Voice and Exit. Marco Becht, Julian Franks, Hannes Wagner (2019). Available at https://ecgi.global/working-paper/corporate-governance-through-exit-and-voice

Speakers

Discussants

Back to full programme

Coordinated Engagements

Time:
14:50h
- 15:40h

Coordinated Engagements. Elroy Dimson, Oğuzhan Karakaş, and Xi Li (2019). Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3209072

Speakers

Discussants

15:40
- 16:00

Break

16:00

Session 4: Panel Discussion (chaired by Richard Robinson)

17:00

Concluding remarks from David Chambers followed by networking reception

Speakers

Carole Ferguson
Aled Jones

Presentations

Back to all presentations

Welcome

Time:
09:15h
- 09:20h

Speakers

Back to all presentations

Introduction: Divest or to Engage? A Case Study of Climate-Change Activism

Time:
09:20h
- 10:10h

Speakers

Discussants

Carole Ferguson
Back to all presentations

ESG Rating Disagreement and Stock Returns

Time:
10:10h
- 11:00h

ESG rating disagreement and stock returns. Peter Schmidt, Rajna Gibson, Philipp Krueger, and Nadine Riand (2019). Available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3433728

Speakers

Discussants

The Firms’ Reaction to Changes in the Governance Preferences of Active Institutional Owners

Back to all presentations

The Firms’ Reaction to Changes in the Governance Preferences of Active Institutional Owners

Time:
11:20h
- 12:10h

The Firms’ Reaction to Changes in the Governance Preferences of Active Institutional Owners. Ruth Aguilera, Vicente Bermejo, Javier Capapé, and Vicente Cuñat (2019). Available at https://ecgi.global/working-paper/firms%E2%80%99-reaction-changes-governance-preferences-active-institutional-owners

Speakers

Discussants

Back to all presentations

Survey on Sector Exclusions

Time:
12:10h
- 13:00h

Survey on Sector Exclusions. Vaska Atta-Darkua and Elroy Dimson (2019). Available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3467677

Speakers

Discussants

Back to all presentations

Corporate Governance Through Voice and Exit

Time:
14:00h
- 14:50h

 

Corporate Governance Through Voice and Exit. Marco Becht, Julian Franks, Hannes Wagner (2019). Available at https://ecgi.global/working-paper/corporate-governance-through-exit-and-voice

Speakers

Discussants

Back to all presentations

Coordinated Engagements

Time:
14:50h
- 15:40h

Coordinated Engagements. Elroy Dimson, Oğuzhan Karakaş, and Xi Li (2019). Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3209072

Speakers

Discussants