In the last decade, companies have come under pressure to be socially conscious and environmentally responsible, with the pressure coming sometimes from politicians, regulators and interest groups, and sometimes from investors. The argument that corporate managers should replace their singular...

For much of the last century, value investors considered themselves to be the winners in the investment world, a result they attributed to their patience, maturity and good sense. That view, at least on the surface, was backed up by evidence that “value” stocks, defined as stocks that trade...