Influence of the global environment on capital flows in the London Office market

PurposeThe London office market is a major destination of international real estate capital and arguably the epicentre of international real estate investment over the past decade. However, the increase in global uncertainties in recent years due to socio-economic and political trends highlights the need for more insights into the behaviour of international real estate capital flows. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence of the global and domestic environment on international real estate investment activities within the London office market over the period 2007–2017.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts an auto-regressive distributed lag approach using the real capital analytics (RCA) international real estate investment data. The RCA data analyses quarterly cross-border investment transactions within the central London office market for the period 2007–2017.FindingsThe study provides insights on the critical differences in the influence of the domestic and global environment on cross-border investment activities in this office market, specifically highlighting the significance of the influence of the global environment in the long run. In the short run, the influence of factors reflective of both the domestic and international environment are important indicating that international capital flows into the London office market is contextualised by the interaction of different factors.Originality/valueThe authors provide a holistic study of the influence of both the domestic and international environment on cross-border investment activities in the London office market, providing more insights on the behaviour of global real estate capital flows.

Irreparable Damage: International Housing Rights and Local Housing Struggles in Rome after 2020

The recent interventions of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) to suspend evictions of tenants in Rome, Italy, allows us to shed light into the forthcoming social catastrophe caused by Italian housing policies, and into the new advancements of social movements for housing. As two scholar-activists involved both in research on housing and in political actions to prevent evictions, we describe how housing movements in Rome are facing the contradictions between local and international discourses on the right to housing.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the volatility of conventional and Islamic stock indexes: a comparative study on ASEAN and GCC countries

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to adopt Morlet's wavelet method to examine the differences in the level of volatility (i.e. riskiness) between the conventional and Shari'ah indexes during the COVID-19 pandemic (February 4 to June 19, 2020) on selected Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. As a comparison, the equivalent time period of relative tranquillity is used;February 4 to June 19, 2019.Design/methodology/approachMorlet's wavelet method is used in analyzing the volatility levels for both the conventional and Shari'ah indexes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic for the selected ASEAN and GCC countries.FindingsThis study has several findings;first, the markets in the ASEAN region appear to be more volatile during the pandemic than in the GCC region. Second, most of the Shari'ah indexes were more volatile during the COVID-19 pandemic than their conventional counterparts. Nevertheless, the GCC index pairs appear to show more similarities between both the Shari'ah and conventional index.Practical implicationsThe findings from this study indicate that investors, government, regulators and all other stakeholders should stay vigilant during a pandemic or health threat period as it has become a pertinent source of volatility spillovers. As such, investors should devise optimal asset allocation strategies, portfolio diversification and portfolio rebalancing measures, taking into consideration not only financial adversity but also public health gravity as a potential source of turbulent markets.Originality/valueThis study uses the wavelet method to examine the volatility level of both the Shari'ah and conventional indexes during the COVID-19 pandemic and its equivalent time frame in 2019. It has further added to the Islamic literature by comparing the volatility between selected ASEAN and GCC countries. The wavelet method is most appropriate for short-duration studies as it captures both the time and frequency domains of the time-series behavior.

One in the Same? Unpacking Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and ESG in South Korea

Substantial growth in global ESG investments has led to calls to better understand regional trends. To this end, this paper provides three major contributions with respect to the Korean market. First, it provides a comprehensive overview of the local ESG landscape. While drivers include aggressive ESG allocation and disclosure requirements, initial growth may have been propelled by a relabeling of existing investments rather than channeling of new capital. Second, this study unpacks ESG and corporate social responsibility (CSR) as presented in the literature. While prior studies have often used ESG and CSR interchangeably, clearer distinctions between the two terms may be called for. Third, this paper investigates ESG and CSR in South Korea through unique news data analysis of 88,946 articles. Unlike the academic literature to date, we see clearer distinctions between ESG and CSR via news analysis. Specifically, related terms for ESG focus on corporate governance and investors, while CSR retains a focus on social contribution and social responsibility.

Performance of Equity Mutual Funds considering ESG investments, Financial Constraints, and the COVID-19 Pandemic

In this paper, we analyzed the risk-adjusted performance of fUnds related to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG-related funds), considering periods of financial constraints and the COVID-19 Pandemic. The database is comprised of3,840 equity mutual funds in the period from January/2006 to December/2020. Each year, considering daily returns, we employed the Returns-Based Style Analysis to classify each fund as an ESG-related fund or a conventional fund;all funds in the category Equities - Sustainability / Governance were also considered as ESG-related mutual funds. Using daily data, for each year, the performance was estimated based on the fourfactors model. The main results indicate that, on average, ESG-related funds presented higher risk-adjusted returns during periods of financial constraints. These results suggest that, during market downturns, investors tend to obtain better risk-adjusted returns for investing in green funds. A similar result was observed in relation to the COVID-19 period, suggesting that, based on the methods and procedures used, ESG-related funds achieved a better performance when compared to conventional funds during the Pandemic.

Islamic equity funds and stock market: dynamic relation and market timing during the COVID-19 outbreak

Purpose This paper aims to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the market timing skills of Islamic equity funds in Asia, Europe and North America. Design/methodology/approach The authors employed a two-step process. First, a Granger causality test is applied to test the bivariate relationship between Islamic fund indices and stock market ones by highlighting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, the methodology of Treynor and Mazuy (1966) is deployed to account for the market timing abilities skills of Islamic fund managers during the pandemic period. Findings The investigation revealed mixed results. The European Islamic funds were positively impacted by the stock market as well as by the COVID-19 pandemic context. Additionally, compared to their Asian and North American peers, only European Islamic fund managers have the ability to time the market during the health crisis period. Research limitations/implications Despite its contribution to the Islamic finance literature, this study has some flaws. Indeed, the selected sample of three regions, namely Asia, Europe and North America, precludes extrapolating these conclusions. Other regions should be investigated to further our understanding of Islamic equity funds. Furthermore, due to data availability and accessibility, the study period was limited to a specific time of the COVID-19 pandemic. This shortcoming can be addressed through a multiwave investigation, especially since each region was exposed differently to the pandemic. Practical implications The paper provides scholars, portfolio managers and investors with insights regarding the investment dilemma during the COVID-19 pandemic period, especially for those wishing to hedge their pandemic risk exposure and/or diversify their portfolios. Equally, the depiction of potential market timing abilities of Islamic fund managers across the three regions would serve as a guide to identifying the most suitable internationally focused investment strategy. Social implications The paper provides scholars, portfolio managers and investors with insights regarding the investment dilemma during the COVID-19 pandemic period, especially for those wishing to hedge their pandemic risk exposure and/or diversify their portfolios. Equally, the depiction of potential market timing abilities of Islamic funds managers across the three regions would serve as a guide to identify the most suitable internationally focused investment strategy. Originality/value The originality of this investigation is that it is the first to examine Islamic equity fund managers and their skills to time the stock markets during the COVID-19 pandemic period in Asia, Europe and North America. The current paper extends the Islamic finance literature.

Doing Philanthropy at the Time of the Sustainable Development Goals: The Case of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo

In 2020, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo applied the Sustainable Development Goals as a framework and restructured its operations to focus on three programmatic efforts - Planet, People, and Culture - aligned with those goals. This article provides a case study of the Compagnia di San Paolo's path to adoption of the framework and the impact of that work using quantitative indicators. The article concludes with a comparison between Compagnia di San Paolo's approaches and some international best practices to provide a better understanding of the foundation's long-term positioning in the international context.

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[...]they give that goal an idealistic cast, committing to the fulfillment of broader social duties. First and foremost, the objective of any business must be to help its customers achieve their goals. [...]it is to help employees achieve their full potential. [...]there should be benefits to the communities that the firm serves.

IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON FIXED INCOME UNIT TRUST FUND AND EQUITY UNIT TRUST FUND PERFORMANCES: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS IN MALAYSIA

The shock of the global COVID-19 pandemic is critical even compared to the great financial crisis of 2007–2008 (Sansa, 2020). This study emphasises the performances of equity unit trust funds and fixed income unit trust funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, applying daily data from January 2020 to June 2020. A total of 32 unit trust funds are selected for the study, consisting of 16 fixed income funds and 16 equity funds. The performance of the unit trust funds is examined by using the Sharpe ratio measure, Treynor ratio measure, and Jensen’s alpha measure to analyse the impact of COVID-19 on the funds. The findings of this research suggest a mixed result of performance, where some funds outperformed the market benchmark while others underperformed it. For the fixed income unit trust funds, both the average standard deviation and average beta underperformed the benchmark index. On the contrary, the total risk of equity funds is higher than the market benchmark, while systematic risk is lower than the market benchmark. Besides, based on the results of Jensen’s alpha, only a few unit trust funds have a positive alpha, implying that some of the fund managers are either good in market timing or in selecting unit trust funds. Investors and fund managers can benefit from this study when making decisions to enhance their portfolios’ performances during the crucial period. This study will also provide a general outlook on the behaviour and performance of unit trust funds in Malaysia during the selected period of the COVID-19 crisis.

Strengthening impact integrity in investment decision-making for sustainable development

PurposeThis paper aims to focus on impact integrity in investment decision-making – an under-researched yet important topic – as a means for optimising investor contributions to sustainable development outcomes, including achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs).Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper adopts a two-step approach. First, this paper reviews existing “responsible” investment strategies and products used in practice and highlight their shortcomings in terms of optimising sustainable development outcomes. Second, drawing from the minimal standards theory, this study explores how emerging impact management practices may strengthen impact integrity in investment decision-making and mitigate shortcomings in existing “responsible” investment approaches to increase their contribution to sustainable development outcomes.FindingsCurrent “responsible” investment approaches often do not optimise sustainable development outcomes and may facilitate “impact washing”. The theoretically grounded framework demonstrates standardised impact management practices based on a bounded flexibility approach – adaptable to different contexts within limits and assessed by skilled analysts – along with incorporating shared language and conventions supported by appropriate accountability mechanisms that can be used to mitigate shortcomings in current “responsible” investment approaches. The authors further propose accountability mechanisms to systematically involve stakeholders (including rightsholders) in decisions that impact them with effective grievance and reparation mechanisms. Such an approach, the authors argue will strengthen impact integrity and the capacity of investments to optimise contributions to sustainable development outcomes.Practical implicationsThe findings have implications for the ability of investment markets to optimise their contributions to sustainable development and the SDGs.Social implicationsBy highlighting shortcomings in current “responsible” investment approaches and focussing on strengthening impact integrity in investment decision-making through standardised impact management practices, the findings enhance the capacity of investment markets to contribute positively to sustainable development and the SDGs.Originality/valueDespite its importance, impact integrity in investment decision-making is severely under-researched with little academic attention. This paper fills this void.

The impact of human capital efficiency on Latin American mutual funds during Covid-19 outbreak.

The mutual funds' returns, inter alia, are dependent on fund managers' performance. This makes human capital efficiency very central for consistent risk-adjusted performance. The persistence in performance becomes more critical during periods of high turbulence, like the one we are experiencing amidst the outbreak of Covid-19. In this research, we attempt to evaluate the performance of equity funds in massively impacted Latin American countries. These equity funds, with 95% of their investment in the infected region, are ranked as per their human capital efficiency using 2019 as the base year. Our findings demonstrate that funds with higher human capital efficiency significantly outperform their counterparts that rank lower on human capital efficiency. These findings remained consistent for the sub-periods that we specify to map the evolution of Covid-19. We conclude that equity funds should enhance their human capital efficiency to endure resilience amid macroeconomic shocks.