Investments & Wealth Institute presents "Best Paper Award
Every year, the Investments & Wealth Institute honors one publication with a "Best Paper Award". The institute is part of the University of Liechtenstein. With this award, it sets an example in terms of entrepreneurship, sustainable investments, risk management and other financial services.
Founded in 1985, the Investments & Wealth Institute, formerly known as IMCA, is a professional association, continuing education provider and standards body for financial advisors, investment consultants and wealth managers committed to excellence and ethics.
The annual Journal of Investment Consulting Academic Paper Competition (currently open to academics and doctoral students) examines research relevant to investment consulting and private wealth management.
Entries must demonstrate the development of theory and applied research on the chosen topic. The winners of this year's competition are Lars Kaiser, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, and Florian Schaller, Research Associate, at the University of Liechtenstein.
Sustainable investment
Her award-winning paper, Environmentally (Un-)Friendly Portfolio Construction, sheds light on a new type of sustainable investment approach, namely the environmental, social and governance (ESG) dynamic. It provides both a theoretical discussion and empirical comparison of this new approach, as well as a perspective on how this approach compares to traditional weighting schemes considered by sustainable portfolio managers.
In their paper, the authors focused exclusively on the environmental aspect of ESG ratings in Europe, paying particular attention to the carbon footprint as a key measure of a portfolio's environmental performance. Although the empirical results showed poorer environmental ratings for ESG momentum portfolios and mixed results in terms of risk-adjusted returns across alternative rating components, the researchers found that there could still be a case for investing in sustainable momentum stocks.
Highest level of excellence and relevance
"The research conducted by these two academics demonstrated the highest level of excellence and relevance to investment management," said Dr. Margaret M. Towle, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Investment Consulting. "With this work, they have significantly advanced the body of knowledge on this topic." Kaiser and Schaller received a $5,000 cash prize for their paper and their work will be published in the next issue of the "Journal of Investment Consulting."
