University of Virginia College of Regulation professor Quinn Curtis’ paper examining regardless of whether mutual cash centered on environmental, social and company governance objectives stay up to their label has been named one particular of the prime 10 corporate and securities article content of 2021.
A poll of lecturers carried out for Company Apply Commentator chosen Curtis’ paper, “Do ESG Mutual Cash Deliver on Their Guarantees?,” forthcoming in the Michigan Legislation Review, and other honorees from extra than 400 candidates. The paper is co-authored by regulation professors Jill E. Fisch of the College of Pennsylvania and Adriana Robertson of the University of Toronto.
Equally the Office of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission have signaled that ESG resources could need a lot more oversight, but the empirical investigation executed by Curtis and his co-authors signifies that unique regulation is not necessary and affirms the cash do provide shareholders an alternative that supports ESG ideas. The authors also conclude that the cash never boost expenses or reduce returns for shareholders.
“It would assistance traders to have a lot more transparency across the board about mutual fund expense methods, ESG or not, but we did not obtain proof that ESG funds were being specifically problematic,” Curtis explained.
Making use of proprietary info offered by 4 foremost ESG ratings corporations, Curtis and his co-authors were being in a position to show that ESG funds usually invested in much better ESG shares and voted to assistance ESG proposals.
Curtis’ investigation was the target of an episode of “Common Law,” a Law Faculty-sponsored podcast. In looking at the info from the ESG fund scores providers, he discusses why characterizing what helps make a company substantial-ESG can be tricky.
“Tesla makes electric powered autos. That, we would believe on the E scale, is great, correct?” he says. “But the vehicles them selves use lithium batteries and lithium mining is an extractive field that is very messy. They’re built in factories that them selves have carbon footprints.”
Company Observe Commentator is a 30-moreover-quantity established of journals featuring articles or blog posts penned on all features of corporate legislation. The article content poll began in 1994.
Curtis, who joined the college in 2011, has composed thoroughly on the regulation of mutual funds and retirement accounts, including empirical work on 401(k) strategies, mutual fund governance and fee litigation. His other research interests consist of corporate governance and corporate litigation. He is affiliated with the John W. Glynn, Jr. Legislation & Enterprise Software.
Curtis’ paper “Shareholder Value(s): Index Fund Activism and the New Millennial Company Governance,” co-authored with Professor Michal Barzuza and Professor David Webber of the Boston College University of Law, was named a single of the leading 10 corporate and securities article content of 2020.
In the previous, the poll has also identified Professors George S. Geis, Cathy Hwang, Edmund W. Kitch and Paul G. Mahoney.
