ERBE 01 1 06
Investors in ESG Mutual Funds
PAULO PEREIRA DA SILVA a and VICTOR MENDES b
a CMVM-Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários and CEFAGE-EU Universidade de Évora, Portugal; b CMVM-Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários and CICEE-Centro de Investigação em Ciências Económicas e Empresariais, Portugal.
To cite this article:
Silva, P.P., Mendes, V. 2021. Investors in ESG Mutual Funds. European Review of Business Economics I(1): 95-109.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26619/ERBE-2021.01.5
Received: 16 October 2020. Accepted: 9 March 2021. Published: 31 December 2021
Language: English
Abstract
This paper analyzes a wide range of clients from a Portuguese bank who have held participation units in mutual funds over the past two decades, in order to understand the extent to which the SRI investor differs from the traditional investor. The analysis shows relevant differences between these investors, in terms of both demographics and trading experience. In general, SRI fund investors reside in large urban centers (Lisbon and Porto), have higher levels of education, financial literacy and numerical skills, and hold qualified positions. SRI investors have more trading experience in securities, they have carried out a higher number of mutual fund trades, and they have invested in a wider range of mutual funds than investors in domestic funds. The differences between investors in SRI funds and investors in foreign funds are more modest, except for stock, bond, derivative and range of mutual funds traded. These differences seem to point to increased dynamism, diversity and trading activity for SRI investors compared to the other investor groups. Ultimately, this search for diversity may explain the investment in socially responsible mutual funds.
Keywords
Microsoft Word – The Investor in ESG Mutual Funds.docx
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