We explore the relationship between US mutual fund managers' incentives to deliver high returns and their portfolio Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance. Mutual funds with managerial ownership ("skin in the game'') exhibit lower ESG performance than otherwise similar funds. This effect is stronger for managers paid to maximize assets under management.
Co-investing managers are less likely to buy high-ESG stocks after exogenous shocks in the flow incentives to hold such assets. Overall, the results suggest that fund managers, on average, do not consider ESG selection an enhanced form of portfolio management to maximize risk-adjusted returns.
We are hosting Alexander Wagner, Professor of Finance at the University of Zurich and senior chair of the Swiss Finance Institute (SFI).
Alexander Wagner balances two passions: the thrill of seeking knowledge about fundamentals of human behavior for knowledge's sake, and the desire to apply insights in the real world and to improve the workings of markets and organizations.
As a professor at the Department of Finance of the University of Zurich (UZH) and as a senior chair of the Swiss Finance Institute (SFI), Wagner has taught corporate finance to thousands of eager students and hundreds of motivated executives, and he has helped shape governance systems of companies large and small.
He is the Chairman of the Executive Education of the UZH Faculty of Business, Economics, and Informatics, and he is Co-Head of the UZH Center for Crisis Competence. He has served as chairman of a proxy advisor and as an independent counsel for PwC.
His research focuses on corporate finance, sustainable finance, and behavioral economics. He obtained his PhD in Political Economy from Harvard University. In his hometown Linz, Austria, he completed studies in economics and law.
The seminar will be held in English.
Major Information: Giulia Baschieri (giulia.baschieri@unibo.it).