Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Many studies indicate that sustainability ratings attract high fund flows, reinforcing the dominant role of rating agencies for the fund industry. However, these studies neglect prospectus information, which is very likely to influence investors' decisions. By analyzing 23,606 equity mutual funds and ETFs, we find that self-declared sustainability statements in fund prospectus are the main driver of retail and institutional fund flows. Additionally, sustainability references in the fund name and the fund’s employed sustainability investment approach significantly affect flows. External sustainability ratings on the other hand appear to be less relevant for fund flows than previous studies suggest.
Source: Journal of Asset Management
Authors: Kevin Birk, Stefan Jacob, Marco Wilkens
Institution: University of Augsburg
Language: English
Subfield: Finance
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,190
Funder: Stiftung Mercator
Award: G2614672387
OpenAlex ID: W4405689038