Sustainable and Responsible Investments: Same Sea, Different Fishes?

The current international economic scenario, long characterized by interest rates close to zero and a higher positive correlation between traditional investment solutions, has persuaded retail and professional investors to rethink their investment strategies and to consider alternative investment solutions. The appeal of specific investments, combining financial returns and social wellness, is increasing. Such a strategy, which seeks to achieve both goals, is generally called sustainable and responsible investing or socially responsible investment (SRI). This paper attempts to answer two research questions: (1) What are the SRI risk-return trade-offs over different time horizons? and (2) Is SRI able to meet investors’ needs, to reduce risk without a negative impact on returns? Preliminary results show that SRI is not completely different from the others investment opportunity, but in a portfolio view, SRI produces benefits for investors.