Asset selection in socially responsible Brazilian stock funds

Abstract

The Brazilian mutual fund industry is the fifth largest in the world. We produced a questionnaire based on well-known international methodologies to evaluate the asset selection practices of Brazilian SRI stock funds. We also compare industry allocations among funds and local stock indices. There were nine active Brazilian SRI stock funds by the end of 2011. There are more than 400 independent asset managers in Brazil but none managed a SRI fund. Asset managers employed by large financial conglomerates with vast retail clienteles manage them, suggesting that SRI funds may be part of an institutional image strategy. Brazilian SRI stock funds lack asset selection sophistication and need to improve the disclosure of their practices. SRI fund managers possibly make up for their poorer practices by informally indexing because their industry allocation is remarkably similar to a corporate sustainability stock index and across funds.