En global trend inom finansbranschen har varit ett ökat intresse för hållbara och ansvarsfulla investeringar från både privata investerare som vid fondbolagens komponering av fonder. I Sverige sparar majoriteten av befolkningen i fonder och en markant tillväxt bland hållbara fonder har skett. Det privata sparandet har flyttats från sparkonto till olika typer av värdepapper såsom fonder. Trots det ökade intresset föreligger ingen definition av hållbara investeringar. Syftet med studien var att förklara urvalsprocessen vid komponering av hållbara placeringsprodukter för att öka investerares kunskap om vilka premisser fondbolag inkluderar i Socially Responsible Investments fonder. I studien intervjuades tre hållbarhetsansvariga i svenska fondbolag samt en aktieanalytiker. Intervjufrågorna kretsade kring vilka premisser fondbolagen inkluderar i sina hållbara fonder samtidigt fick respondenten belysa sin framtidstro på hållbara fonder. Studiens resultat visade på att samtliga fondbolag använder samma urvalsmetoder och följde samma urvalskriterier vid komponering av sina hållbara placeringsprodukter. Legitimitet och ekonomiskt incitament är bidragande begrepp i föreliggande studie. Resultatet som framkom var att även ifall fondbolagen tagit beslut utifrån det ena incitament så finns det kopplingar till det andra underliggande incitamentet. / A global trend in the financial sector has been an increased interest in sustainable and responsible investments from both private investors and the fund companies' composition of funds. In Sweden, most of the population saves in funds and a significant growth among sustainable funds has taken place. Private savings have been transferred from savings accounts to various types of securities such as funds. Despite the increased interest, there is no definition of sustainable investment. The purpose of the study was to explain the selection process when composing sustainable investment products to increase investors' knowledge of the premises of fund companies in Socially Responsible Investment funds.The study interviewed three sustainability managers in Swedish fund companies and one equity analyst. The interview questions revolved around what premises the fund companies include in their sustainable funds at the same time the respondent had to shed light on his future belief in sustainable funds. The study's results showed that all fund companies use the same selection methods and followed the same selection criteria when composing their sustainable investment products. Legitimacy and financial incentive are contributing concepts in the present study. The result that emerged was that even if the fund companies made decisions based on one incentive, there are links to the other underlying incentive.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate whether certain information, in this case, ESG rating, contributes to better firm performance on the stock market during Covid-19, or whether variables such as size and industry have a higher degree of explanation. The thesis takes on a quantitative method and uses statistical models to analyze secondary data from Refinitiv Eikon. Empirical results provide no evidence that ESG ratings would affect stock market performance during Covid-19. Furthermore, size and industry do not increase the degree of explanation for the relationship. This can be explained by investors' outlook on sustainable investments and the relevance of ESG on the Swedish stock market. Previous research on the relationship between performance in the stock market and ESG ratings has mainly examined larger economies such as the US and the UK or had a global focus. By focusing on the Swedish stock market and including the variables size and industry in the relationship between stock performance and ESG, the thesis adds to a further understanding of the Swedish stock market. This thesis also broadens the perspective of ESG by questioning it as a relevant source of information.

I dagsläget står vår omvärld inför flertal utmaningar utifrån ett miljö- och socialt perspektiv. En effekt av detta är att efterfrågan av hållbara investeringsalternativ har ökat hos privatpersoner. I takt med att medvetenheten om hur privatpersoners investeringar kan bidra till en förbättrad omvärld har andelen svenska människor som söker investeringar i hållbara fonder ökat. Genom att investera pengar i hållbara fonder kan privatpersoner påverka hur företag arbetar ur ett miljö- och socialt perspektiv. Hållbara fonder söker investeringsalternativ som leder till en positiv klimatpåverkan och social påverkan genom ett långsiktigt värdeskapande. Information om hur hållbara fondbolag går till väga för att identifiera och investera i hållbara alternativ är dock bristande vilket kan leda till att privatpersoner inte vet hur deras pengar hanteras utav fondbolagen vid val av investeringar. Denna studie har som syfte att beskriva och analysera vilka investeringsstrategier svenska fondbolag använder för att identifiera hållbara investeringar. Studien har anpassat en kvalitativ metod och, med hjälp av fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer med svenska fondbolag, samlat in data avseende hur de går till väga innan, under och efter investeringsbeslut. Studiens slutsats är att fondbolagen använder negativ- och positiv screening baserat på ESG-kriterier för att identifiera hållbara investeringsalternativ. Efter det att fondbolagen har investerat i ett företag använder fondbolagen olika former av engagemang för att säkerställa att investeringen fortsatt förblir hållbar. / The global community is currently facing various environmental and social challenges, leading to an increased demand for sustainable investment options among private individuals. In response, the proportion of Swedish individuals seeking sustainable investment options has grown. This study describes and analyzes the investment strategies used by Swedish fund companies to identify sustainable investments. A qualitative method was applied and included four semi-structured interviews with Swedish fund companies. The results indicate that fund companies use negative and positive screening based on ESG criteria to identify sustainable investment opportunities and employ various forms of engagement to ensure the sustainability of the investment. This study contributes to the understanding of how fund companies identify sustainable investments and can inform private individuals on the processes used by such companies.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the difference in performance and management fees between ethical and conventional mutual funds registered in Sweden. Our dataset consists of 49 ethical and 254 conventional funds, estimated on a 10-year period of time between January 2005 to January 2015. Jensen’s alpha is used as a measure for risk-adjusted performance and estimated through CAPM single-index model as well as by Carhart’s four-factor model. By adding back the management fees to the net returns and then estimate Jensen’s alpha by Carhart’s four-factor model once again, evidence of any differences in the impact on return between ethical and conventional funds is found. The results obtained from the study show that there is no difference in neither the risk-adjusted returns nor management fees between ethical and conventional funds. It is concluded that Swedish mutual fund investors are not paying a specific price in terms of reduced returns or higher management fees for putting social and ethical values into their financial investment decision.