{"title":"How do investor preferences on ESG score influence portfolio management? A Markov model for simulating risk-return expectations","authors":"Salvatore Vergine","doi":"10.1007/s10479-025-06716-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In recent years, the increasing interest in financial policies in more sustainable economics and the consequent growth of public awareness about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) companies’ issues have modified investors’ portfolio management through ESG considerations in investment decisions. Consequently, the classic Markowitz mean-variance solution based on expected returns and standard deviation has been modified to consider ESG firm characteristics. This study investigates how investors’ ESG preferences influence portfolio choices and decision-making processes. We employ a discrete-time homogeneous Markov model to analyze ESG rating migration patterns, simulate possible configurations of the efficient frontier in portfolios aligned with sustainable preferences, and optimize portfolio asset weights complying with ESG portfolio performance over a time period. The obtained results provide a means of assessing the impact of the investor’s propensity toward sustainability over time on portfolio profitability. This approach provides insights into how ESG considerations may reshape portfolio performance over time, fostering more informed and ethically guided financial decisions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8215,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Operations Research","volume":"351 3","pages":"2033 - 2057"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annals of Operations Research","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10479-025-06716-3","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"OPERATIONS RESEARCH & MANAGEMENT SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In recent years, the increasing interest in financial policies in more sustainable economics and the consequent growth of public awareness about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) companies’ issues have modified investors’ portfolio management through ESG considerations in investment decisions. Consequently, the classic Markowitz mean-variance solution based on expected returns and standard deviation has been modified to consider ESG firm characteristics. This study investigates how investors’ ESG preferences influence portfolio choices and decision-making processes. We employ a discrete-time homogeneous Markov model to analyze ESG rating migration patterns, simulate possible configurations of the efficient frontier in portfolios aligned with sustainable preferences, and optimize portfolio asset weights complying with ESG portfolio performance over a time period. The obtained results provide a means of assessing the impact of the investor’s propensity toward sustainability over time on portfolio profitability. This approach provides insights into how ESG considerations may reshape portfolio performance over time, fostering more informed and ethically guided financial decisions.
期刊介绍:
The Annals of Operations Research publishes peer-reviewed original articles dealing with key aspects of operations research, including theory, practice, and computation. The journal publishes full-length research articles, short notes, expositions and surveys, reports on computational studies, and case studies that present new and innovative practical applications.
In addition to regular issues, the journal publishes periodic special volumes that focus on defined fields of operations research, ranging from the highly theoretical to the algorithmic and the applied. These volumes have one or more Guest Editors who are responsible for collecting the papers and overseeing the refereeing process.