Quantifying the Impact of Impact Investing
73 Pages Posted: 18 Oct 2021 Last revised: 20 Dec 2022
Date Written: October 18, 2021
Abstract
We propose a quantitative framework for assessing the financial impact of any form of impact investing, including socially responsible investing (SRI), environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives, and other non-financial investment criteria. We derive conditions under which impact investing detracts from, improves on, or is neutral to the performance of traditional mean-variance optimal portfolios, which depends on whether the correlations between the impact factor and unobserved excess returns are negative, positive, or zero, respectively. Using Treynor-Black portfolios to maximize the risk-adjusted returns of impact portfolios, we propose a quantitative measure for the financial reward, or cost, of impact investing compared to passive index benchmarks. We illustrate our approach with applications to biotech venture philanthropy, divesting from “sin” stocks, investing in ESG, and “meme” stock rallies such as GameStop in 2021.
Keywords: Impact Investing, ESG Investing, Socially Responsible Investing, Venture Philanthropy, Investments
JEL Classification: C10, C20, G11, G12
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation