ESG Investing: A Statistically Valid Approach to Data-Driven Decision Making and the Impact of ESG Factors on Stock Returns and Risk

This study examines the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors on economic investment from a statistical perspective, aiming to develop a tested investment strategy that capitalizes on the connection between ESG factors and financial performance. ESG investing: A statistically valid approach to data-driven decision-making (ESGI-SVADDM) investment strategy is based on a rigorous, statistically valid approach that utilizes data, math, statistics, and data science libraries to drive investment decisions, eliminating the need for personal opinions and subjectivity. The process includes establishing an investment thesis, formulating testable hypotheses (HPS), retrieving and refining relevant data, calculating relevant measures, and testing and validating all hypotheses. The study uses S&P 500 stock data and ESG data from Sustainalytics to test the hypotheses. The empirical tests conducted revealed a negative correlation between ESG risk and expected returns, as well as a positive trend in the relationship between ESG risk and the overall risk of stocks. Moreover, the study found that higher ESG risk scores are associated with lower returns for investors, and that adopting a strategy of investing in stocks with low ESG risk and shorting stocks with high ESG risk yields superior returns compared to the market portfolio.