There are two primary factors that can affect expected returns for ESG companies with high ratings – investor preferences and risk. While it is true that investor preferences for highly rated ESG companies can lower the cost of capital and, thereby, increase the value of those companies, the flip side of the coin is lower expected returns for investors. With respect to risk, the jury remains out on whether there is an ESG related risk factor. However, early research indicates that if there is an ESG related risk factor, it also points toward lower expected returns for investments in highly rated ESG companies because those companies provide a hedge against ESG related risk. The conclusion is that while ESG investing may have social benefits, higher expected returns for investors is not among them.

中文翻译：

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ESG 偏好、风险和回报

有两个主要因素会影响具有高评级的 ESG 公司的预期回报——投资者偏好和风险。虽然投资者对高评级 ESG 公司的偏好确实可以降低资本成本，从而增加这些公司的价值，但硬币的另一面是投资者的预期回报较低。关于风险，是否存在与 ESG 相关的风险因素尚无定论。然而，早期研究表明，如果存在与 ESG 相关的风险因素，也表明投资于高评级 ESG 公司的预期回报较低，因为这些公司提供了对 ESG 相关风险的对冲。结论是，虽然 ESG 投资可能具有社会效益，但投资者的更高预期回报并不在其中。