Postgrowth: 10x new research on fossil fuel finance, coal insurance, postgrowth literature, financial nature risks, social ratings, ESG herding, resilient ESG, ESG regulation, divestment and transition deficits (# shows the number full SSRN research paper downloads as of June 19th, 2025)
Social and ecological research
Browner banks: Fossil Fuel Finance report 2025 by the Banking on Climate Chaos as of June 2025: “The 65 biggest banks globally committed $869 B USD to companies conducting business in fossil fuels in 2024. The 65 biggest banks globally committed $429 B USD to companies expanding fossil fuel production and infrastructure in 2024. Over 2/3 of banks covered in this report (45 banks) increased their fossil fuel financing from 2023 to 2024. 48 of the 65 banks in this report increased fossil fuel expansion finance from 2023 to 2024” (p. 4). My comment: Good reason to use green banks
Coal impact: Insurers’ Carbon Underwriting Policies by Olimpia Carradori, Felix von Meyerinck, and Zacharias Sautner as of June 12th, 2025 (#66): “We study … carbon under writing policies among the world’s largest insurers. …Implementation of coal policies is often incomplete, and some insurers expand coal coverage despite commitments. Using merged mine-insurance policy data, we show that insurers with coal policies reduce the number of insured mines by about 16%, insured coal volumes by 56%, and make continued coverage 13pp less likely. Affected mines reduce output, cut employment, and are abandoned more often in subsequent periods” (abstract). My comment: Insurance companies can have a huge ecological impact
Postgrowth concepts: Degrowth and postgrowth: A systematic literature review of growth-critical science by Arho Toikka, Toni Ruuska, Laua Wiman, and Pasi Heikkurinen as of April 3rd, 2025 (#41): “… While previous reviews have examined studies of degrowth and postgrowth as forming a unified and unanimous field, this article challenges the assumption that these concepts form a shared scholarly or political agenda beyond being critical towards growth. By using topic modelling … the study finds the topics in the full text of 943 articles. … In the analysis, the articles draw on 20 topics, appearing in various combinations, allowing us to present the network of the growth-critical discussion as it spans across fields and disciplines.” (abstract). My comment: SDG (revenue) alignment – if used sensibly – can be a very powerful post-growth indicator which has not been discussed yet as far as I know
ESG investment research (in: Postgrowth)
Financial nature: Corporate Nature Risk Perceptions by Snorre Gjerde, Zacharias Sautner, Alexander F. Wagner, and Alexis Wegerich as of May 1st, 2025 (#650): “We survey companies worldwide … Nearly half view nature risks as financially material. Nature restoration efforts are less wide spread than mitigation efforts. Among respondents who experienced investor engagement on nature, three-quarters see it as value-generating, often prompting strategic changes“ (abstract).
Social rating effect: ESG Ratings and Financial Reporting Quality: Why Social Performance Matters by Rimona Palas, Dalit Gafni, Dov Solomon, and Ido Baum as of June 12th, 2025 (#9): “… no prior study has comprehensively examined how the individual ESG pillars relate to financial reporting quality (FRQ). Using a sample of U.S.-listed firms from 2012 to 2022, we analyze the separate effects of the environmental, social, and governance components on FRQ, measured by earnings persistence and the ability of earnings to predict future cash flows. We find a strong association between the social pillar and FRQ“ (abstract).
ESG herding: ESG Mania and Institutional Trading by Riza Demirer, Lavinia Rognone, and Huacheng Zhang as of as of June 3rd, 2025 (#45): “Recent two decades have seen that institutional investors simultaneously crowd in (buy) the ESG stock market. … we find significant evidence that their ESG investments are driven by fad, reputation, fund flow, or informational exploitation …. Small, dedicated, and ill-performed institutions exhibit strong herding intensity; institutions that experienced outflows exhibit higher herding intensity and high herding institutions attract more flows. Herding institutions do not outperform and their trading does not significantly impact stock prices. We find weak evidence of ‘doing well by doing good’. Finally, a compressive regression analysis suggests that reputational concern and attracting fund flow are the dominant motivations“ (abstract). My comment: I wonder what happens if these investor finally discover SDG and impact investments
Resilient ESG: ESG Indices and Macroeconomic Factors: A European Panel Data Analysis by Eleonor Salzman as of June 13th, 2025 (#8): “… this study examines macroeconomic variables‘ short- and long-term impacts on ESG-driven indices (MSCI ESG) in European economies. Conventional indices are included to enhance comparability and interpretability … Results show that macroeconomic factors significantly influence both indices, with ESG indices exhibiting greater resilience to economic shocks through smaller regression coefficients …” (abstract). My comment: ESG investments appear to be less rsikay than traditional investments
ESG rating regulation: The EU regulation on ESG Ratings: Fit for purpose? by Filippo Annunziata and Michele Siri as of Feb. 24th, 2025 (#157): “The recent approval of the new Regulation on ESG ratings marks an important evolution in the complex and evolving landscape on ESG finance in the European Union. The new EU regulation can indeed be considered as a step towards detailed and quite precise rules to ensure more reliable ESG ratings in the path of EU policy agenda to achieve a more sustainable world. The paper offers a first analysis of the new provisions, pointing to its similarities, but also differences with the Credit ratings regulation and discusses its more relevant aspects” (abstract).
SDG and impact investment research
Sticky fossils: Divestment From Fossil Fuels: Evidence From Ownership Data by Benjamin Trouvé and Alain Naef as of Jan. 29th, 2025 (#63): “… Our database contains 30 million investor positions in the 312 largest fossil fuel companies. We show that certain religious organizations, universities and public organizations divested from fossil fuel. Looking at all large investors … we find that commodity price returns are the major drivers of short-term divestment … Only very few investors adjust their fossil fuel holdings in the long term” (abstract). My comment: If pollution reduction is a goal, less regulation does not seem to be the answer
Transition deficits: Climate Risk Engagements by Francois Derrien, Alexandre Garel, Arthur Romec, and Feng Zhou as of Jan. 24th, 2025 (#299): “We study climate-risk related engagements by one of the world’s largest investors. … We find that firms with greater carbon footprint and greater exposure to climate transition risk are more likely to be targeted. Following a climate risk engagement, targeted firms are more likely to commit to adopt a science-based climate target and to disclose climate-related information. Targeted firms also experience a reduction in their carbon emissions. However this reduction is limited to scope 1 and 2 emissions and its magnitude is inconsistent with net-zero targets” (abstract). My comment: I invest in and focus my engagement in the most-sustainable companies which seem to be more open to real sustainability improvements
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Werbung (in: Postgrowth)
Unterstützen Sie meinen Researchblog, indem Sie in den von mir beratenen globalen Small-/Mid-Cap-Investmentfonds (siehe FutureVest Equity Sustainable Development Goals R) investieren und/oder ihn empfehlen.
Der Fonds konzentriert sich auf die UN-Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung mit durchschnittlich einzigartig hohen 99% SDG-vereinbaren Umsätzen der Portfoliounternehmen und sehr hohen E-, S- und G-Best-in-Universe-Scores sowie einem besonders umfangreichen Aktionärsengagement (siehe auch My fund).
Zum Vergleich: Ein traditioneller globaler Small-Cap-ETF hat eine SDG-Umsatzvereinbarkeit von etwa 5 %, ein diversifizierter Gesundheits-ETF 13 %, Artikel 9 Fonds circa 20%, liquide Impactfonds und ein ETF für erneuerbare Energien ungefähr 40 % (vgl. Maximale Portfolio-Nachhaltigkeit: Was geht?).
Insgesamt hat der von mir beratene Fonds seit der Auflage im August 2021 eine ähnliche Performance wie traditionelle globale Small- und Mid-Cap-Fonds (vgl. z.B. Fonds-Portfolio: Mein Fonds | CAPinside).
Ein Fondsinvestment war also bisher ein „Free Lunch“ in Bezug auf Nachhaltigkeit: Ein besonders konsequent nachhaltiges Portfolio mit marktüblichen Renditen und (eher niedrigeren) Risiken. Vergangene Performance ist allerdings kein guter Indikator für künftige Performance.