This paper analyzes a wide range of clients from a Portuguese bank who have held participation units in mutual funds over the past two decades, in order to understand the extent to which the SRI investor differs from the traditional investor.
The analysis shows relevant differences between these investors, in terms of both demographics and trading experience. In general, SRI investors reside in large urban centers (Lisbon and Porto), have higher levels of education, financial literacy and numerical skills, and hold qualified positions. SRI investors have greater trading experience in securities, higher number of mutual fund trades, and invest in a wider range of mutual funds than investors in domestic funds.
The differences between investors in SRI funds and investors in foreign funds are more modest, except for stock, bond, derivative and range of mutual funds traded. These differences seem to point to greater dynamism, diversity and trading activity for SRI investors compared to the other investor groups. Ultimately, this search for diversity may explain the investment in socially responsible mutual funds.