We examine whether engagement on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues can benefit shareholders by reducing firms' downside risk, measured using the lower partial moment and value at risk. Using a proprietary database, we provide evidence supporting this hypothesis. We further find...

Questions and debate surround institutional investor preferences regarding the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) profiles of their portfolio firms. To address these issues, we examine changes in their portfolios and find that preferences for corporate ESG depend critically on investor...