Does it pay to be responsible? Evidence on corporate social responsibility and the investment performance of Australian REITs

Steffen Westermann, Scott J. Niblock and Michael A. Kortt

Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, 2022, vol. 29, issue 4, 1102-1119

Abstract: This paper creates portfolios to better understand the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on the risk-adjusted returns of Australian Real Estate Investment Trusts (A-REITs) from 2007 to 2016. We find that A-REIT portfolios (except for the high CSR-rated portfolio) outperform the broader Asia-Pacific market. We also show that the low CSR-rated A-REIT portfolio delivers the best risk-adjusted return performance. Our findings indicate that while CSR practices might mitigate risk in A-REITs, they do not appear to improve risk-adjusted return performance. However, CSR practices may be effective in producing greater risk-adjusted returns for A-REITs during market downturns or economic crises.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1080/16081625.2019.1673188

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