COURSE NUMBER: EWMBA 292I.11
This course is
cross-listed with the Full-Time MBA Program
Please note the unorthodox format of this course which
meets all day on two Sundays.
COURSE TITLE: Social Investing - Recent Findings in
Management and Finance
UNITS OF CREDIT: 1 Unit
INSTRUCTOR: Lloyd Kurtz
E-MAIL ADDRESS: lkurtz@haas.berkeley.edu
CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: https://bspace.berkeley.edu/
MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: Sunday, 9:00AM-5:00PM, (September 15
& September 29)
PREREQUISITE(S): None, but some training in finance,
investments, statistics, and/or management theory will be helpful.
CLASS FORMAT:
The course will cover four broad topics - 1) The Social
Investment Landscape (lecture/discussion), 2) Corporate Social Responsibility
and Stakeholder Analysis (lecture/discussion), 3) Markets and Social
Responsibility (lecture/discussion) and 4) Social Investment Strategies
(student group presentations)
REQUIRED READINGS: A packet of readings will be provided
prior to the first class session.
Background material may be found on the following
websites:
http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/responsiblebusiness/MoskowitzResearchProgram.html
http://www.sristudies.org
(an older online archive, currently being transitioned to FSinsight)
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Group project, final paper, class
participation.
ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of
this course is to provide an overview of the theory and practice of modern
social investing, and to introduce you to recent research in the field. With
new impetus from the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, the
use of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) criteria is becoming
increasingly prevalent throughout the world. Social investing is moving toward
the mainstream – and at the same time receiving a new level of scrutiny. Social
investors have placed themselves - some perhaps unwittingly - at the center of
an important debate. On one hand, many ethical and religious traditions
advocate altruism and community-mindedness in all our dealings, including
financial and business matters. On the other, some economic and financial theorists
argue for a narrow focus on risk and reward, with little regard for the impact
of decisions on stakeholder groups or the environment. Until recently, this
debate was largely ideological in nature. But over the past decade, empirical
work has shown surprising and sometimes counter-intuitive relationships between
ESG factors and financial outcomes. This course will review four social
investment approaches in detail, along with related academic studies, and
encourage you to do your own analysis and develop your own views on the field
of social investment..
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Lloyd Kurtz is Chief Investment Officer at Nelson Capital
Management. He has been affiliated with the Haas Center for Responsible
Business since 2005, where he oversees the Center's annual Moskowitz
Prize for the best quantitative study of social investing, acts as faculty
advisor to the Haas Socially Responsible Investment Fund, and serves on the
editorial board of FSinsight (fsinsight.org). His
recent research includes a Fall 2011 article on social
investment universe performance in the Journal of Investing and a chapter on
stakeholder management for the textbook Socially Responsible Finance and
Investing (Wiley). He also wrote the chapter on social investment for the
2008 Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility. He holds Bachelors degrees in English and Psychology from Vassar
College and an MBA from Babson College, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.