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, (9/14 & 9/28)

 

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.fsinsight.org

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.