Divest or Engage? Strategies for Responsible Investing

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