ESG Risk and Returns Implied by Demand-Based Asset Pricing Models

Abstract

We investigate how changes in demand for Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) characteristics affect stock prices. We consider three scenarios: increased demand for ESG characteristics by investors, shifts in assets under management from institutions with low demand for ESG characteristics to those with high demand, and changes in the ESG characteristics of the stocks themselves. To compute the effects of the scenarios, we use a demand-based asset pricing model which is calibrated to individual stock-level holdings of institutional investors. We find that these scenarios lead to significantly different returns of stocks with different ESG characteristics

Keywords: sustainability, ESG, equilibrium, demand-based asset pricing, stock predictability, scenarios

JEL Classification: C10, C13, C51, C58, C68, G11, G12