In recent years, there has been a growing debate around “socially responsible finance”. Demand for opportunities labelled as “socially responsible investments” (SRI) has increased, behavioral finance and institutional “nudging” are receiving more attention, and corporate governance of institutions is broadly discussed. Overall, potential returns as well as conflicts of interest, environmental and social impact are more closely scrutinized.

a) What are the origins of this movement? and how does it work in practice?

b) What is the evidence to date about whether SRI investments outperform or underperform non-SRI investments?

c) What is the origin of behavioral finance? In which decisions can be found?

d) Is there evidence of institutional “nudging” benefiting main street?

e) How do you think reading about behavioral finance and SRIs will affect future personal and professional decisions?