Managing Mutual Funds with Different Mandates: Evidence from ESG and Non-ESG Sibling Funds
Speaker：Xiang Haotian, Associate Professor, Peking University
Host：Liu Yanchu, Professor, Lingnan College
Time and Date：16:00, May 21, 2026 (Thursday)
Venue：W.T.Chan Auditorium, Lingnan Hall
Language：English + Chinese
Abstract：
We study portfolio selections and returns of mutual funds with distinct mandates but common managers. We develop a simple model where managers acquire information on a limited investment universe, from which they select stocks for different funds. The model is tested on a sample of co-managed non-ESG and ESG funds. Consistent with our model, non-ESG funds select more and better-performing high ESG stocks when co-managed with an ESG sibling, and co-managed ESG funds select better-performing low ESG stocks. Finally, ESG funds outperform their non-ESG siblings, despite being constrained by ESG mandates. Managers' favoritism to ESG funds partly explains this outperformance.
Profile:
Xiang Haotian is currently Associate Professor and Doctoral Supervisor in the Department of Finance, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, as well as Vice Dean of the National Institute of High-Tech Zone Development Strategy, Peking University. His main research interests include debt risk, financial regulation, ESG investment, and cryptocurrency. His research papers have been published or forthcoming in top international academic journals such as Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Economic Theory, and Management Science. He has also presented his research at prestigious academic conferences and received numerous awards.
He teaches a wide range of courses for undergraduate, master's and doctoral students. He has been awarded the Peking University Excellent Teaching Award and honored as an Outstanding Class Advisor of Peking University. Xiang received his Bachelor of Economics (Major in Finance) from the Guanghua School of Management, Peking University in 2014, and his PhD in Finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA in 2019.
