On the performance of socially responsible investing : further evidence

We examine the relation between corporate social performance and stock portfolios performances. Based on Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini social performance ratings, the study constructs and evaluates different sets of equity portfolios that differ in social performance. The high-ranked portfolios provide, in most cases, higher average returns than their low-ranked counterparts over the 1995-2006 period. In addition, we observe that the relation social-financial performance depends also on the economic cycle and consequently, on the market performance. Socially responsible investments seem to be more popular during bearish market periods and less popular during bullish market periods. Finally, our results suggest that in some industries, the differences of performances are more significant than in others. In other words, the relation social-financial performance seems to be considerably affected by the nature of firms’ activities. Therefore, our empirical results suggest that industry is an important factor that should be taken in consideration in studies on the relation between social and financial performance