Divesting and Re-investing into a Greener Future for Canada

divestment;socially responsible investing;modern portfolio theory;behavioral theory;green economy

Hunt, Chelsie

University of Waterloo

关键词: divestment;    socially responsible investing;    modern portfolio theory;    behavioral theory;    green economy;   

Others  :  https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/bitstream/10012/10598/5/Hunt_Chelsie.pdf

瑞士|英语

来源: UWSPACE Waterloo Institutional Repository

【 摘 要 】

Whether Canada chooses to adhere to its responsibilities to meet its climate change targets ornot, investors in Canada have a lot to be concerned about. The imminent threat of human inducedclimate change will have the global community reacting in ways that will affect Canada and theirinvestors. This thesis explored the Canadian equity market through the lens of an investor who isinterested in investing with particular strategies that address climate change with respect tocarbon emissions. Both modern portfolio theory and behavioral finance theory were explored anddemonstrated that both investor types should be concerned about the climate change related risks;that the two theories contending paradigms are bridged on the topic of socially responsibleinvesting concerning carbon related risks in respect to climate change. The two techniquesutilized for portfolio construction that addressed carbon related risk and supported moral andethical ideologies were: tiered divestment of fossil fuel related companies and utilizing carbonfootprinting metrics to create best in-class portfolios. Throughout the period of January 2011 toAugust 2015 the resulting portfolios of the two strategies outperformed relative to their associatedbenchmark; that is, offering a superior risk/return while mitigating the risk associated to carbonemissions. These results contribute the body of the literature that analyzes the link betweensocially responsible investing and financial performance.