Inwestowanie etyczne – zasady i efektywność

Abstract

The main goal of the article is to present the rules for ethical investing and criteria for selecting an ethical portfolio as well as comparative analysis of the effectiveness of ethical and unethical investments. The article points out the evolution in the approach to the construction of ethical portfolios from the one based on the negative selection (exclusion of companies from “undesired” industries) toward positive selection, concentrated on selecting companies following good practices of corporate governance and having a positive social and environmental impact. Research on the effectiveness of SRI investment versus traditional investments show that in most cases the inclusion of ESG criteria in portfolio selection has a neutral impact on portfolio performance and in some cases that impact becomes positive. The research conducted for the purpose of this article, comparing the performance of real life portfolios of ethical, unethical and traditional investments, during the period of 2003–2014 has shown the dominance of portfolio returns generated by the unethical portfolio although accompanied by the higher variation of these returns, resulting from limited sectoral diversification of unethical portfolio.