PUFIN Research Seminar: Climate Change and Mutual Fund Voting on Environmental Proposals

In this PUFIN research seminar, join Professor Alexandre Garel as we explore whether investors’ personal experience of climate change affects their voting behavior on environmental issues.

We find that fund managers exposed to abnormally hot temperatures are significantly more likely to support environmental proposals. This increased support is stronger for proposals targeting firms with greater climate risk. The effect is less pronounced for funds that are already climate-conscious (e.g., environmental-friendly funds and funds located in areas more receptive to scientific evidence of climate change). We further show that environmental proposals receive greater aggregate support when the fraction of mutual funds exposed to abnormally hot temperatures is high. Overall, we show that fund managers’ experiences and increased awareness of climate change have a positive effect on their support for environmental policies.

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Professor Alexandre Garel

Alexandre Garel is an assistant professor of finance at Audencia. Alex previously worked in the Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand and a scientific advisor for the KPMG. Alex’s research focuses on corporate finance, corporate social responsibility, climate change and behavioural finance. His research has been published in journals including the Journal of Financial Economics, Management Science, the Review of Accounting Studies, Journal of Corporate Finance and Economics Letters. In addition, Alex’s work also appears in other media including the Conversation, the Harvard Business Review and radio/television.