Socially responsible investing has presented itself as a growing, multifaceted, advanced and sophisticated investment philosophy. Socially responsible investment (SRI) involves incorporating social, ethical and responsible investment objectives with financial investment objectives during the investment decision-making process. Social, ethical and responsible investment objectives are set in line with environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria which are established within the SRI strategy followed. SRI strategies include screening (negative, positive and best-of-sector), shareholder activism and cause-based investing. Although international SRI markets such as that of the United States of America and the United Kingdom are sophisticated and established markets, the South African SRI market is still relatively new and is yet to reach its full potential. Thus, as a growing market, little research regarding the long term risk-adjusted performance of SRI funds in South Africa has been conducted. The long term risk-adjusted performance of the sample of SRI funds was measured through the use of five risk-adjusted performance measures, namely the Treynor ratio, Sharpe ratio, Jensen’s alpha, Sortino ratio and Omega ratio, and through the use of three performance measurement models which included the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), Fama-French three-factor model and Carhart four-factor model. The risk-adjusted performance of the sample of SRI funds was measured with the intent to establish if these funds out- or underperformed against three benchmark categories, namely the Financial Times Stock Exchange/Johannesburg Stock Exchange (FTSE/JSE) SRI Index, a matched sample of conventional investment (non-SRI) funds and the FTSE/JSE All Share Index. The probable effect of the 2007/08 global financial crisis was also measured to analyse whether such a hazardous market event affected the performance of the SRI funds. According to the results and findings, the risk-adjusted performance of the SRI funds has improved over the research period. However, the SRI funds neither outperformed nor underperformed against the three benchmark categories over the research period. The performance measurement models’ analysis indicated that the SRI funds were less sensitive to market fluctuations, more exposed to small capitalisation portfolios, more growth-oriented, and exhibited significant momentum after the period of the 2007/08 global financial crisis. Furthermore, the analysis indicated that the SRI funds significantly underperformed against the non-SRI funds during the Performance of socially responsible investment funds in South Africa research period. Mixed results were obtained with regards to the probable effect of the 2007/08 global financial crisis on the performance of the SRI funds.

‘Corporate social responsibility’ (CSR) and ‘socially responsible investment’ (SRI) have become predominant frameworks connecting business to society that have spread across the globe. They comprise a shared set of ideas and practices, such as those promoted in global reporting standards and by international organisations such as the UN Global Compact. Nonetheless, both are constructed and reproduced by companies in relation to context-specific social institutions, including norms and conventions shaping company engagement in social issues. Using a neo-institutionalist theoretical framework, the thesis examines constructions of social responsibility in discourse and within institutional contexts, across regions that are not often compared in the research terrain: two West European welfare states (Sweden and the UK) and two emerging African economies (South Africa and Mauritius). The purpose of the thesis is to add to the literature on CSR and SRI with a sociologically informed perspective that is comparative and connects institutional theory with social constructionism and a Foucauldian perspective on power. The thesis analyses how perceptions of CSR and SRI are constructed in relation to the social institutions that encase companies’ engagement with social issues, such as national level welfare configurations and the institution of financial investments. The main argument in this thesis is that CSR and SRI need to be seen as contextually constructed, in discourse and practice, in ways that draw the boundaries and set the conditions for company engagement with social issues. The thesis comprises three articles. Article 1 is a content analysis of company self-reporting on CSR and the article examines how the content given to CSR relates to broader welfare configurations and as such differs in four national settings across the divide between emerging African economies and Western welfare states. Article 2 is a discourse analysis that examines interpretative repertoires occurring in company self-reporting across the same set of four countries. The interpretative repertoires are analysed as discursive practices where power intersects with the production of knowledge on CSR. Article 3 focuses on SRI and examines responsible investing as a form of institutional work that institutional investors engage in. Based on an interview study with institutional investors in Sweden, the article analyses institutional work as a process that has the effect of both institutional creation and maintenance and it connects these institutional processes to the construction of meaning on SRI. In its entirety the thesis contributes a sociological perspective on how prevailing understandings of corporate social responsibility come into being and are reproduced. / Uppfattningar om företags samhällsansvar har begreppsliggjorts i huvudsak genom idéer om ’corporate social responsibility’ (CSR) och ’ansvarsfulla investeringar’. Under de senaste decennierna har dessa begrepp utvecklats till att bli vanligt förkommande och har spridits över världen. Som globala koncept medför de en gemensam uppsättning av idéer och metoder, såsom de som förs fram i internationella standarder för företags CSR rapportering, och utav internationella organisationer såsom FN:s Global Compact. Ändå skiljer de sig åt mellan olika kontexter och är konstruerade och återges av företag i förhållande till sociala sammanhang. Begreppen ges mening i relation till sociala institutioner i form av normer och konventioner som redan omger företag och sociala frågor. Baserat på nyinstitutionell teori undersöker avhandlingen konstruktioner av samhällsansvar och ansvarstagande, i diskurs och i institutionella sammanhang, över regioner som inte ofta jämförs i forskningen kring skillnader i företags samhällsansvar: två Västeuropeiska välfärdsstater (Sverige och Storbritannien) och två tillväxtekonomier i södra Afrika (Sydafrika och Mauritius). Syftet med avhandlingen är att bidra till litteraturen kring CSR och ansvarsfulla investeringar med ett sociologiskt perspektiv som är jämförande och för samman institutionell teori med social konstruktionism och Foucaults perspektiv på makt. Avhandlingen analyserar hur föreställningar om CSR och ansvarsfulla investeringar konstrueras i förhållande till de sociala institutioner som omger företags engagemang i samhällsfrågor, och belyser speciellt vikten av samhällets välfärdssystem och konventioner kring finansiella investeringar som betydelsefulla för dessa begrepp. Huvudargumentet i denna avhandling är att CSR och ansvarsfulla investeringar måste ses som kontextuellt skapade, i diskurs och praxis, på ett sätt som drar gränserna och skapar förutsättningarna för företags engagemang i samhällsfrågor. Avhandlingen omfattar tre artiklar. Artikel 1 är en innehållsanalys av företags självrapportering om CSR och artikeln undersöker hur innehållet som ges till CSR i självrapporteringen relaterar till hur samhället i övrigt hanterar välfärd och sociala frågor. Artikeln visar på hur CSR på så sätt skiljer sig åt mellan fyra olika länder där två är tillväxtekonomier i södra Afrika och två är Västeuropeiska välfärdsstater. Artikel 2 är en diskursanalys som undersöker språkliga repertoarer (interpretative repertoires) som förekommer i företags självrapportering om CSR, i samma uppsättning av fyra länder. Repertoarerna analyseras som tillämpandet av diskurs och de synliggör hur makt är av betydelse i skapandet av diskurser kring CSR. Artikel 3 fokuserar på ansvarfulla investeringar och undersöker detta som en form av aktivt skapande och återskapande av samhällsinstitutioner. Baserat på en intervjustudie med institutionella investerare i Sverige analyseras ansvarfullt investerande som en process som på samma gång innebär både skapande av en ny social institution, ansvarsfulla investeringar, och återskapande av en existerande institution, finansiella investeringar. Skapandet av nya idéer inom ramarna för en existerande institution påverkar innebörden i ansvarsfulla investeringar. I sin helhet bidrar avhandlingen med ett sociologiskt perspektiv på hur uppfattningar om företags samhällsansvar skapas och återskapas. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript. Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript.</p>

L’investissement éthique est un investissement fondé sur des critères extra-financiers : l’investisseur cherche un enrichissement tout en poursuivant une fin non matérielle tirée du respect de certaines valeurs La coloration éthique a vocation à rejaillir sur le régime de cet investissement. Elle dicte le contenu de la politique d’investissement, oblige les intermédiaires financiers à informer les investisseurs de manière adéquate, et les contraint à veiller à la conformité éthique de l’investissement jusqu’à son dénouement.L’investissement éthique ne saurait toutefois se limiter à cela. Adoptant une démarche conséquentialiste, les investisseurs peuvent s’engager auprès des émetteurs pour y défendre leurs valeurs. D’un point de vue théorique, cet activisme actionnarial met en lumière l’échec des thèses traditionnelles à définir la finalité des sociétés. Plutôt que de raisonner en termes d’intérêt social, il conviendrait à présent de recourir à la Stakeholder Theory. / Ethical investment is based on non-financial criteria: the investor expects a return on the investment while pursuing a non-material objective, based on the respect of certain values. Ethics bring a nuance, which impacts the set of rules for this type of investment. It establishes the content of the investment policy and requires financial intermediaries to inform investors adequately. It also forces them to ensure ethical compliance of the investment to its ending. Ethical investment, however, is not limited to this. By adopting a consequentialist approach, investors can engage with issuers to defend their values. From a theoretical point of view, this shareholder activism highlights the failure of traditional theories to define the purpose of companies. Because the concept of “intérêt social”, which the French doctrine struggles to define, leads to a deadlock, a cross-disciplinary approach, the Stakeholder Theory, should be preferred.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-08-07T13:36:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Karina Rodrigues Pereira_.pdf: 842883 bytes, checksum: 47e9e5bfe8fdf9bcfe064da54ae57db5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-08-07T13:36:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Karina Rodrigues Pereira_.pdf: 842883 bytes, checksum: 47e9e5bfe8fdf9bcfe064da54ae57db5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-19 / Nenhuma / Os Fundos de Pensão são importantes investidores institucionais, detentores de um grande volume de recursos, proveniente das poupanças previdenciárias de seus participantes. Com a finalidade de cumprir com seu principal objetivo (pagamento de benefícios futuros), os Fundos de Pensão precisam empregar seus recursos nas modalidades mais rentáveis de investimentos, levando em consideração o prazo e o nível de risco apresentado. Para auxiliá-los nesta questão, foram criados os Princípios para o Investimento Responsável (Principles for Responsible Investment - PRI), os quais consideram que empresas sustentáveis, do ponto de vista, ambiental, social e de governança corporativa podem gerar maior valor para o acionista no longo prazo, pois estão mais preparadas para enfrentar riscos futuros. Considerando que os Fundos de Pensão podem ocupar assento no conselho das empresas investidas, buscando auxiliá-las nas questões abordadas pelo PRI, o presente estudo tem como principal objetivo analisar a relação entre o ativismo exercido por um Fundo de Pensão brasileiro, signatário do PRI, e o nível de governança corporativa e práticas sustentáveis adotados pelas empresas investidas. Para a realização desta pesquisa foram elaborados e testados três modelos estatísticos. O primeiro modelo avalia a relação entre ativismo e responsabilidade ambiental (IRA), o segundo avalia a relação entre ativismo e responsabilidade social (IRS), e o último avalia a relação entre ativismo e governança corporativa (IGOV). Os dados foram coletados através do método de pesquisa documental e foram extraídos de diversas fontes. A amostra utilizada neste estudo foi selecionada a partir da carteira de investimentos da PETROS – Fundação Petrobras de Seguridade Social, segundo maior Fundo de Pensão brasileiro. Foram consideradas 41 empresas, observadas pelo período de 10 anos (2001 à 2010). A metodologia aplicada para a regressão dos modelos estatísticos foi o método de Dados de Painel, com efeitos aleatórios. Por fim, foram apurados os resultados e analisados os índices de responsabilidade ambiental (IRA), responsabilidade social (IRS) e governança corporativa (IGOV) das empresas investidas, antes e após a presença do ativismo do Fundo de Pensão. Os resultados encontrados suportam as hipóteses de que o ativismo exercido pelos Fundos de Pensão está positivamente relacionado com o desempenho socioambiental e o nível de governança corporativa das empresas nas quais investem. / Pension Funds are important institutional investors which hold a large amount of resources from the pension savings of their participants. In order to fulfill its main purpose (future benefit payments), Pension Funds need to invest their resources in the most profitable forms of investment, taking into account the time and the level of risk presented. The Principles for Responsible Investment - PRI were created in order to help them in this issue. The PRI consider that sustainable companies, in terms of environmental, social and corporate governance can generate higher shareholder value in the long run because they are better prepared to face future risks. Whereas Pension Funds can occupy a seat on the board of investee companies, seeking help them on issues addressed by the PRI, the present study has the main objective to analyze the relationship between activism practiced by a Brazilian Pension Fund, PRI signatory, and level of corporate governance and sustainable practices adopted by investees. To conduct this research three statistical models were developed and tested. The first model assesses the relationship between activism and environmental responsibility, the second evaluates the relationship between activism and social responsibility, and the last one evaluates the relationship between activism and corporate governance. Data were collected using the method of documentary research and were obtained from various sources. The sample used in this study was selected from the investment portfolio of PETROS - Petrobras Social Security Foundation, the second largest Pension Fund in Brazil. Forty one companies were considered, observed for a 10-year period (2001 to 2010). The methodology applied to the statistical models regression was the method of Panel Data, with random effects. Finally, the results were calculated and the rates of environmental responsibility, social responsibility and corporate governance of investees were analyzed before and after the presence of the activism of the Pension Fund. The results support the hypothesis that activism practiced by the Pension Funds is positively related to the level of socio-environmental performance and the level of corporate governance of companies in which they invest.

The leaders of all countries of each sector and level of society are compelled to work together to address [social and environmental] challenges by maintaining sustainable human development and ensuring that the benefits of globalization are shared more widely. It is in the interests of businesses that these benefits continue both for companies and for others in society.   The Venture Capital is a financial capital provided to the startup firms in their early stages which has a high potential for growth but also entail high risk. The Venture capital firms typically look for new and small businesses with a perceived long term growth potential that will result in a high payout for investors. Venture capital is a subset of private equity of the firms. On other hand, Private equity is an asset class consisting of equity securities, which are not quoted in the stock market. An investment in private equity most often involves either an investment of capital in a mature firms as well as buyout firms.             The purpose of this study is to explore the gap between UK and U.S venture capital and private equity firms on the base of ESG criteria into investment decision making process. To find a relationship between venture capital and private equity firms mainstream investment with ESG criteria and also highlight new trends and the issues, which are potential barrier of ESG criteria implementation in UK and US firms. The authors used different academic literature, previous studies to find a gap and a relationship of ESG criteria into mainstream investment decision making process in UK and U.S firms.   The research is based on both primary &amp; secondary data under descriptive nature of study. A technique with the name of content analysis was used to collect the quantitative data from the U.K and U.S Venture Capital and Private Equity firms. These firms are further categorized in the sample size under the umbrella of clean tech and non-clean tech. Total sample size is 120 firms (60 VC &amp; 60 PE), where 56 are clean tech and 64 are Non-clean tech firms. The find a relationship between variables regression analysis technique is used through SPSS for verifying the validity and variability of collected Data.   We found that, an ESG criterion is on development stage, and there is no such technique and standards that are developed by the venture capital and private equity firms. We found, that firms are mostly focusing on responsible investment strategy; it is somehow same like whole ESG for purpose of their investment screening process. We found that ESG consideration in some UK and U.S venture capital and private equity firms exist, but vary from firms to firms. Some firms are considering just one factor while some other firms consider more than one.  Large firms have more focus on ESG as compared to small firms; due to the nature of business and size, and number of employees, focus is only limited towards investment options and development of strategies for the firm. The result of this study interpret that the U.S firms are focusing more on investment returns, and pay less attention towards ESG as compared to U.K firms, Where UK Venture capital and private equity firms results shows that, they are more focused towards ESG and feel free to incorporate ESG criteria into their investment strategies without incurring any cost in terms of risk and returns.

Cette thèse s’attèle à déterminer les conséquences théoriques et empiriques de la considération d’indicateurs socialement responsables dans la sélection de portefeuille traditionnelle. Le premier chapitre étudie la significativité de la perte d’efficience moyenne-variance d’un portefeuille d’obligations souveraines lorsque l’on introduit une contrainte sur la notation socialement responsable moyenne des Etats. En utilisant un échantillon d’obligations d’Etats développés sur la période 1995-2008, nous montrons qu’il est possible d’augmenter sensiblement la notation socialement responsable moyenne sans perdre significativement en termes de diversification. Le second chapitre propose une analyse théorique de l’effet sur la frontière efficiente d’une contrainte sur la notation socialement responsable du portefeuille. Nous mettons en évidence les différents cas de figure pouvant se produire en fonction de la corrélation entre les rendements attendus et les notations socialement responsables et de l’aversion au risque de l’investisseur. Enfin, puisque la question de l’efficience des portefeuilles investis en fonction de critères socialement responsables fait débat dans la littérature financière, un dernier chapitre propose un nouveau test d’efficience moyenne-variance dans le cas réaliste où aucun actif sans risque n’est disponible. / This thesis aims at determining the theoretical and empirical consequences of the consideration of socially responsible indicators in the traditional portfolio selection. The first chapter studies the significance of the mean-variance efficiency loss of a sovereign bond portfolio when introducing a constraint on the average socially responsible ratings of the governments. By using a sample of developed sovereign bonds on the period 1995-2008, we show that it is possible to increase sensibly the average socially responsible rating without significantly losing in terms of diversification. The second chapter proposes a theoretical analysis of the impact on the efficient frontier of a constraint on the socially responsible ratings of the portfolio. We highlight that different cases may arise depending on the correlation between the expected returns and the socially responsible ratings and on the investor’s risk aversion. Lastly, as the issue of the efficiency of socially responsible portfolios is a central point in the financial literature, the last chapter proposes a new mean-variance efficiency test in the realistic case where there is no available risk-free asset.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:24:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3302.pdf: 2414321 bytes, checksum: 36b084be0141c31869c52c6e1583fdbe (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-10-08 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The launch of the Brazilian Corporate Sustainability Index in Sao Paulo s Stock Market, analyzed through an economic approach, can be reduced to a new financial tool which measures the profitability of Sustainable listed companies. However, through a sociological approach, the launch of this index is equivalent to the creation of the Brazilian Socially Responsible Investment Market. The creation of this market demonstrates the emergence of new polarizations in the Economic Field, particularly in the Financial Field. These new polarizations indicate a change in the Financial Field, which presents a new way of thinking the Financial Market based on taking account of social, environmental and financial criteria. This change emerges from an elite convergence which challenges the limits of the Financial Field, at the same time trying to reinvent the Financial Market through a proposal of a Sustainable Capitalism. This thesis indicates that it s possible to understand the creation of Socially Responsible Investment Market by studying the actors and institutions that participate in the Corporate Sustainability Index s Committee. As a result, this study emphasizes the urge of developing a Sociology of Indexes. At last, this thesis concludes that the Sustainability insertion in the Financial Field is legitimated by a group acting in the financial area, which converges with the Corporate Social Responsibility s and The Environmental Movement s elite, in an attempt to turn the table of mainstream finance. However, this mainstream turn does not push towards the ending of financial market, but it s strengthening instead. / A criação do Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial na Bolsa de Valores do Estado de São Paulo consistiu, pelo viés econômico, em mais um indicador de rentabilidade das empresas sustentáveis listadas na bolsa. Pelo viés sociológico, a criação deste índice equivale à criação do mercado do Investimento Socialmente Responsável no Brasil. A criação deste mercado evidencia o surgimento de novas polarizações no mundo econômico e, em particular, no mundo financeiro. Estas novas polarizações evidenciam portanto uma mudança no habitus financeiro apresentando uma nova forma de pensar o mundo das finanças a partir da tríade economia, meio-ambiente e sociedade. Essa mudança só é possível a partir da convergência de diferentes frações de elites as quais colocam em xeque a autonomia do campo financeiro ao mesmo tempo em que procuram reinventá-lo a partir da proposta de um capitalismo sustentável. Deste modo, esta tese demonstra que é possível compreender a construção do Mercado de Investimento Socialmente Responsável no Brasil a partir do Estudo sociológico dos atores e das instituições que compõem o Conselho do Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial apontando a necessidade de se desenvolver no Brasil uma sociologia dos índices. Assim, esta tese conclui que a inserção da Sustentabilidade no mercado financeiro se legitima a partir de um grupo atuante na esfera das finanças, o qual converge com atores ligados à Responsabilidade Social Empresarial e ao Movimento Ambiental, na tentativa de inverter o jogo dominado por financistas mainstream. No entanto, esta tentativa de virar o jogo não pressupõe o fim do mercado financeiro, mas sim o seu fortalecimento e conseqüente reprodução no campo global do poder.

This thesis aims at determining the theoretical and empirical consequences of the consideration of socially responsible indicators in the traditional portfolio selection. The first chapter studies the significance of the mean-variance efficiency loss of a sovereign bond portfolio when introducing a constraint on the average socially responsible ratings of the governments. By using a sample of developed sovereign bonds on the period 1995-2008, we show that it is possible to increase sensibly the average socially responsible rating without significantly losing in terms of diversification. The second chapter proposes a theoretical analysis of the impact on the efficient frontier of a constraint on the socially responsible ratings of the portfolio. We highlight that different cases may arise depending on the correlation between the expected returns and the socially responsible ratings and on the investor’s risk aversion. Lastly, as the issue of the efficiency of socially responsible portfolios is a central point in the financial literature, the last chapter proposes a new mean-variance efficiency test in the realistic case where there is no available risk-free asset. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This thesis brings together two responses to the question ‘how can the law extend the timeframe for environmentally relevant decision-making?’ The first response is drawn from the context of institutional investment, and addresses the timeframe and breadth of environmental considerations in pension fund investment decision-making. The second response is related to the context of public environmental decision-making by legislators, the judiciary, and administrators. Three themes underlie and bind the thesis: the challenges to decision-making posed by the particular temporal and spatial characteristics of environmental problems, the existence and effects of short-termism in a variety of contexts, and the legal notion of the trust as a means for analysing and addressing problems of a long-term or intergenerational nature. These themes are borne out in each of the four substantive chapters. Chapter III sets out to demonstrate the theoretical potential of pension funds to drive the reduction of firms’ environmental impact, and, focusing particularly on the notion of fiduciary duty, explores the barriers that stand in their way. Chapter IV provides a practical application of the theoretical recommendations outlined in its predecessor. It provides a framework outlining how pension funds might implement a longer term, more sustainable approach to investing. The second half of the thesis, operating in the context of public environmental decision-making, is centred upon a particularly poignant legal notion with respect to the environment and time: the concept of intergenerational equity. Just as the first half of the thesis deals with the timeframes relevant to investment decision-making by pension funds within the bounds of fiduciary duty, largely a private law affair with public implications, the second half of the thesis is concerned with the principle of intergenerational equity as a means for extending the decision-making timeframe of legislative, judicial and administrative decision-makers. As previous analyses of the concept of intergenerational equity provide little insight into its practical implications when applied to particular factual situation, Chapter V sets out the structure of the principle of intergenerational equity as revealed by case law. Chapter VI brings together the issues from the first three papers by conceptualising intergenerational equity in resource management as an issue of long-term investment. Long-term environmental decision-making faces many obstacles. Individual behavioural biases, short-term financial incentive structures, the myopic pressures of the electoral cycle and the tendency of the common law to reinforce the (often shorttermist) status quo all present significant barriers to the capacity of both private and public decision-makers to act in ways that favour the longer term interests of the environment. Nonetheless, this thesis argues that there is reason for hope: drawing upon the three themes that underlie all of the substantive Chapters, it articulates potential legislative changes and recommends the adoption of particular governance structures to overcome barriers to long-term environmental decision-making.

Notre thèse traite des thématiques de la responsabilité sociétale des entreprises (RSE), de sa relation avec la performance économique et financière de l’entreprise, et de l’investissement socialement responsable (ISR). Ces thématiques ont récemment gagné en popularité, favorisées par un contexte de crise économique et environnementale. Notre thèse se compose de quatre principaux chapitres. Notre premier chapitre est une revue de la littérature académique sur la RSE et l’ISR. Nous proposons une revue interdisciplinaire de la littérature académique partagée entre l’économie et les sciences de gestion (éthique appliquée aux entreprises, stratégie et finance). Notre second chapitre est une analyse empirique de la relation entre RSE et performance financière de l’entreprise sous l’angle du coût du capital. Nous nous intéressons à l’impact de la publication d’une notation de la politique de RSE d’une entreprise sur la liquidité de ses titres et la taille de sa base d’actionnaires. Nos troisième et quatrième chapitres sont des analyses des propriétés de portefeuilles d’ISR construits à l’aide de nouvelles méthodes d’allocations. Ainsi nous analysons comment des stratégies d’allocations basées sur le risque modifient la performance des portefeuilles d’actifs financiers émis par des émetteurs ayant une politique de RSE, et réciproquement comment un univers d’investissement composé uniquement d’émetteurs ayant une politique de RSE modifie les propriétés de ces allocations alternatives. / Our thesis examines corporate social responsibility (CSR) and how it is linked to a firm’s economic and financial performance, as well as socially responsible investment (SRI). With the current environmental and economic uncertainty, these issues are attracting increasing interest. Our thesis is organized in four chapters. Chapter 1 is a literature review on CSR and SRI. We propose an interdisciplinary review of the academic literature in both economics and management sciences (ethics applied to business, strategy and finance). Chapter 2 is an empirical analysis of the relationship between CSR and a firm’s financial performance in terms of cost of capital. We look at the impact of publishing an evaluation of the firm’s involvement in CSR on the liquidity of its stocks and the size of its investor base. Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 are analyses of the characteristics of SRI portfolios built according to new allocation methodologies. We analyze how risk-based allocations impact the performance of the portfolios of financial products of issuers involved in CSR, and reciprocally, how a universe of investment composed of the financial products of issuers involved in CSR impacts the properties of these alternative allocations.