State Pension Funds and Corporate Social Responsibility: Do Beneficiaries’ Political Values Influence Funds’ Investment Decisions?

Andreas G. F. Hoepner () and Lisa Schopohl ()
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Andreas G. F. Hoepner: University College Dublin
Lisa Schopohl: Henley Business School, University of Reading

Journal of Business Ethics, 2020, vol. 165, issue 3, No 8, 489-516

Abstract: Abstract This study explores the underlying drivers of US public pension funds’ tendency to tilt their portfolios towards companies with stronger corporate social responsibility (CSR). Studying the equity holdings of large, internally managed US state pension funds, we find evidence that the political leaning of their beneficiaries and political pressures by state politicians affect funds’ investment decisions. State pension funds from states with Democratic-leaning beneficiaries tilt their portfolios more strongly towards companies that perform well on CSR issues, and this tendency is intensified when the state government is dominated by Democratic state politicians. Moreover, we find that funds which tilt their portfolios towards companies with superior CSR scores generate a slightly higher return compared with their counterparts. Overall, our findings indicate that funds align their investment choices with the financial and non-financial interests of their beneficiaries when deciding whether to incorporate CSR into their equity allocations.

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility; CSR; Fiduciary duty; Political values; Portfolio decisions; State pension funds; Socially responsible investing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G11 H55 H75 M14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-018-4091-z

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