As you probably know, more and more institutions are re-evaluating their Investment Guidelines to take into account Environmental, Social and Governance considerations.

This process raises a series of tricky/interesting issues:

• How specifically is a company rated on ESG guidelines?
• There are multiple companies that provide ESG ratings, which one should an investor choose?  Are they consistent with each other?
• Does consideration of ESG factors improve investment performance? 
• Do some investors incorporate ESG factors for reasons other than investment performance? 
  Is there a cost of that decision?  How does that cost square with the Fiduciary responsibility an Asset Manager has?
• How does an Asset Manager use the power of the Proxy vote and Corporate Engagement to affect change in Environmental, Social and Governance policies

This course tries to answer the questions just raised as well as address other issues Equity Investors face. Its main topics cover:

• Comparing ESG Classification Systems
• Comparing historical returns, risks and costs of portfolios that incorporate ESG factors versus ones that don’t
• Evaluating how Active managers incorporate ESG factors into their portfolio management process, contrasting Fundamental versus Quantitative approaches
• Review Passive ESG investing focusing on Index Selection and the use of Exchange Traded Funds
• Explore how Asset Managers use the power of the vote and other forms of engagement to affect change in Corporate Behavior.

Mark Zurack

Senior Lecturer in Discipline in Business

Mark A. Zurack teaches Capital Markets and Investments, Equity Derivatives and Equity Markets and Products at Columbia Business School, and also teaches at Cornell University as an Adjunct Professor. Mark is currently on the Board of Directors of the Binghamton University Foundation and also serves on the Boards of the Alzheimer's Association, Teach For America, Upper West Success Academy, ETC, Southampton Bath and...

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